


Arcadia Abandoned

by orphan_account



Category: VALORANT (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Urban Fantasy, Angel Wings, Angel/Demon Relationship, Blood and Violence, Dark Magic, Demons, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Smut, F/F, Fallen Angels, Fantasy, Fluff, Heaven & Hell, Humor, Magic, Not Beta Read, Swearing, Tsundere, Urban Fantasy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:13:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 33,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28406064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Ever since the beginning of time, the angels Delilah and Mirai had been bosom buddies, always working together and staying at each other's side at all times right until the Heavenly Rebellion where Reyna and many of her fellow angels fell with the defiant Archangel. It has been billions of years since the two were separated and Sage is slowly recovering, burying herself with her work until a spike of malevolent paranormal activity causes her to investigate the once-hidden town of Sleepy Hollow where she encounters a face long forgotten.
Relationships: Reyna/Sage (VALORANT)
Comments: 24
Kudos: 17





	1. Pandora's Box

**A Day after the Heavenly Rebellion**

"Just talk to me. Please, it wasn't your fault"

Principalities Aamir or better known with his peers as Cypher knocked on his late friend's office aware that a certain individual resided there. Ever since the Holy Trinity declared Archangel Samael Morningstar killed in action or banished, Powers Mirai or better known as Sage has been lingering around one of his closest friend's quarters, shutting the doors down so only she was in her vacated room. To the left of Cypher approached Principalities Killjoy, her chilled hands clasped together restlessly.

"She any better?"

"We're all mourning Delilah, Killjoy, she's just ... she just needs some time alright? She just lost her best friend, alright?"

"Do you think she died in the fall?"

Killjoy murmured, afraid of Mirai overhearing what he's saying

"You don't want to know what I'm thinking about, ... come on let's leave her alone"

Patting Killjoy's shoulder, Aamir dug his hands into his pockets and dawdled his way down the bleak marble hallway hesitantly followed by the uptight Principalities. On Reyna's desolate bed lay her companionless and empty best friend clutching her lilac toga, her confident facade was set down back at the door. Her exposed pale face drenched in tears, her ebony eyes were bloodshot from crying ever since her dearest friend was declared banished beyond redemption or either killed in action, two tear marks marked her face trailing downwards across her barely-visible freckles that went across from one cheekbone to the other.

Clutching onto the toga, Mirai brought the piece of clothing near her delicate nose catching her friend's remaining scent on it, her scent was like a drug to her, she knew with every sniff she would feel a burst of euphoria only for it to be quickly replaced by a wave of misery knowing she will never get to be near her again, to smell his intoxicating scent again.

"I wanted more time"

Her whimpers slowly turning into nonsensical blubbering.

Mirai slowly rose from her fetal position to stand upright beside the bed, her messy raven black hair tumbling down to her shoulders. Stepping towards Reyna's wardrobe, she tossed the crumpled toga onto the top shelf of the wardrobe thoughtlessly. A loud prolonged grumble came out of her stomach indicating her hunger, despite her want for solitude Mirai snatched her deceiving facade and slowly slid it onto her face before tearfully jerking her head away from the darkened room. Mirai wandered her way to the ship's lunchroom.

When she entered the cafeteria, the few angels that spotted her started twiddling their fingers and looking away from her as if she just got a horrendous disfigurement. Turning a blind eye on them Mirai took a small tray full of refined greyish paste and ambled her way to a table devoid of people. Soon enough, Mirai dug into the hideous paste. Feeling its bitter and metallic taste enter her mouth Tali forcibly swallowed the diabolical paste.

"Anything to get my mind off her"

She thought to herself just as she saw two of her friends sit down next to her.

"You alright?"

Guardian Angel Sova whispered to the distraught Powers.

"No"

Mirai whimpered, her eyes swelling up with tears again by the thought of Reyna. The mere thought of her gentle smile and the way life seemed to dance peacefully around them whenever they were together was enough to fracture Mirai's mind.

"We all miss her even though she was working with Lucifer, especially you but ... you're barely come out of her quarters, the only times you come out of his room is to eat. I'm worried, Mirai, I really am. Killjoy here is worried about you, doesn't matter, everybody here is worried about you"

"I wanted more time!"

Mirai broke down in front of Sova and Killjoy causing all the chatter in the cafeteria to halt to a stop but as if they were prepared for this kind of situation Sova and Killjoy gently lifted her up from her seat and directed her out of the suddenly melancholic lunchroom.

Whilst dragging Mirai to her room the trio passed by the infamous Virtues better known as Phoenix to the crew. Seeing Killjoy nearly dragging Mirai across the floor Phoenix raised an eyebrow whilst frowning.

"What did you do wit ... oh"

"She's not doing so well ever since ... well you know"

Killjoy sighed wistfully as she layed Mirai on her bed. Phoenix, Sova, and Killjoy watched as Mirai slowly curled into a fetal position once more, her body trembling as she sobbed. Leaving Mirai, Sova and Phoenix went down Heaven's labyrinth of hallways while Killjoy remained.

"If only you were here, Reyna, if only"

**\-------**

"I can't do this anymore I can't do this anymore I can't do this anymore"

Mirai was back in Reyna's room like she always was. For the past few weeks since her breakdown in the lunchroom she's been getting progressively worse, in the past few days she's stopped going out of Reyna's room to eat, her only source of nourishment was packaged food Cypher leaves at the door, yesterday she stopped eating altogether. Her emptied glass stein was again on the bedside table, the glass was splattered with crusty lines and circles just like remnants of Mirai's neverending tears that stained her face. Her hair was a shambles jutting left, right and centre making her raven black hair look like its been through a tornado.

"It's just you - you're all alone"

A familiar voice rang in Mirai's ear, sluggishly Sage opened her reddened charcoal-coloured eyes to see her bruised buddy sitting beside her.

"Delilah?"

Mirai whimpered optimistically hoping deeply that this was her friend. All of a sudden she turned towards Mirai and pinned her hands above her head.

"How could you do this to me! After everything we've been through, I trusted you! It doesn't matter anymore I don't care about you. No one does"

Delilah yelled with the top of his lungs stirring up Mirai's tears up again.

"Please forgive me!"

Mirai loudly sobbed, tears streaming down her face once more.

"I wish I'd never met you! I thought we were family, I'm gone because of you, you don't deserve to be loved!"

Delilah screamed at Mirai once more, her eyes overflowing with tears and her mouth wide open emitting an ear-piercing wail but in that instance, Delilah soon disappeared from Mirai's sight as if he was a ghost, rubbing her sore wrists Mirai retreated into the bedsheets her sore eyes making it hard to see, unanticipatedly Delilah's voice returned to Mirai's ear.

"Your fault"

"You broke my heart"

"I hate you"

Delilah's words reverberated in Mirai's ears grew louder by the second turning from harsh whispers to deafening roars. Her malevolent shouts grew so loud that Mirai started to get a splitting headache, bending her neck upwards readying herself to knock herself unconscious Mirai was immediately pulled back by unseen forces dragging her to the bed once more. A sharp slap caused her eyelids to flutter, suddenly as Mirai blinked her surroundings changed from Delilah's disorganized room to Heaven's already filled infirmary surrounded by some of her friends, Cypher was on the left side of her while Sova was on the opposite side. Another Virtues going by the name Skye was standing side by side with Killjoy staring worriedly into Mirai's ruined face.

"W-what h-happened?"

"Killjoy and I were rushing to my room since I forgot to wear formal attire for a crucial meeting at the Embassy when we heard you screech in Reyna's room"

"Since you locked the door I had to pull it open, you were raising your arms above your head as if somebody was pining it above you"

"Killjoy and I had to drag you to the infirmary while you were screaming and kicking behind us"

Slamming her palm against her throbbing forehead she glanced wistfully at her concerned friends which surrounded the table she was planted on before she leapt off it. 

"Come join us in the celebration instead of hanging in Reyna's bedroom. It'll be good for you"

As soon as the melodic chime of Mirai's wings sprouting Killjoy knew she once again as always riled somebody up thus causing her to be pinned against the nearby marble wall with two iridescent crystal shards lodged deep inside her tunic. Mirai was in front of her bearing eyes that truly downhearted. Her wings were nearly as tall as her body, arcing off her back like a concave reflection. Each long, narrow shard of crystals tensed and shook in her heaving fury. Nobody could forget those spectacular wings of hers and that silken light jade gleam, more silver in the top than below. The smaller shards blended intricately with the larger ones as they rounded the delicate, narrowing curve toward the bottom tip.

"I'm not going to a party glorifying the death of my best friend. I'll stay right here"

Crossing her arms before leaning against the bed she watched as every single one of her friends simply nodded before funnelling through the only door out of the near-empty infirmary but right as she was about to retract her crystalline appendages a cold touch swept across many of the shards causing her to swiftly turn around to see Reyna sitting on the bed she was just on a few seconds ago, she was gently dragging her fingers across the crystals before flashing Mirai a melancholic smile easing the tension that was building up inside the grieving angel.

"You should take time to celebrate with the others. You deserve it"

"I wish you could have been here with me"

Mirai tried to place a gentle touch on Reyna's knees but failed as her hand simply floated through it. No matter how much she wanted her to be there physically, she can't. It was all in her imagination anyways.

"I am always with you, little dove. I would not trade the time I had with you for anything. It was a good fight"

"A great fight"

"We have finished it, go enjoy yourself and forget about little old me, Mirai. And when you go to the sea, I will be waiting for you at the shore"

Mirai barely had time to get one last look of her friend before her entire body dissipated into thin air. No matter how painful it was for her to take one step within the party she knew it was inevitable, the war was over and the rebellious angels were banished, nothing could have prevented that and at the end she would have to get over it sooner or later so with a hesitant stride she marched out of the infirmary.

**\--------**

**Present Day Earth**

"This place intrigues me"

They swallowed, mouth gone dry.

"I-I-It's not really that interesting"

"Funny,"

A flicker of a smile, and a gaze that never wavered appeared on her face as she leaned closer to their faces.

"People living in uninteresting places generally don't have to say that"

They had to get out - right now. A step closer, and they were mesmerized.

"What are you trying so hard to hide?"

She murmured as she walked calmly around their house checking every nook and cranny for any discrepancies whilst the minor Gods watched one of the seven angelic commanders roam their house searching for a hidden demonic infestation. This was fireteam commander Mirai, now an infamous monster hunter angel known for wiping out demons faster and more efficiently than any other angel. She possessed what humans would have called an Eastern Asian appearance, she had wavy neck long hair that still retained its obsidian black colour. Her eyebrows were quite well done and thin and dual eyebrow slits, she wore dark eyeliner and light eyeshadow to complement her inky eyes and overall her graceful face.

Her attire themselves were rather casual than for combat as she wore a black suit dress and nothing else except for the thigh knife holster, no gun, no sword, just a knife to face off a few minor Gods and perhaps some demons. 

Walking around the house and towards the living room, Mirai listened to her own footsteps hearing the wooden floorboards creak until she took one last final step before feeling draft underneath her feet to which she grabbed her knife's contoured grip, spinning around before stabbing downwards further proving that another room was present went more draft appeared around. Turning her head towards the minor Gods she snarled at them causing them to run towards the nearest exit but unfortunately, they heard Mirai snap her fingers and instantly they heard the apartment door slam shut before locking itself.

"I'll deal with you both later but I've got bigger fish to fry"

Yanking her blade out of the floorboard the trapdoor finally gave away collapsing to reveal a staircase towards a still lit basement. Casually walking down it she holstered her weapon and right as she entered the basement she turned to her left to see a rather large rectangular room housing humanoid beings seemingly made entirely out of a dark material except for a few white lights on their face forming a pair of eyes and a mouth paired with horns and small bat wings behind their backs. Great, demons without vessels. I love my job.

"Demons without any vessels. I wonder how the lads above found you all"

Seeing one of the vesselless demons shift into its viscous shadow form and hover towards Mirai it tried to enter in through her nose and mouth but before it could touch her body an invisible barrier around her pushed it backwards confusing the attempted invader's brethren.

"Sorry boys but this wonderful body is taken"

Seeing the smoke form a humanoid body once again one of them began to speak albeit with an ethereal and nearly incomprehensible tongue.

"What are you?"

"Is there an eye doctor in Hell? You better get checked"

The lights within the stone room began to flicker as the lights became brighter and brighter making the bulbs shatter one by one but this showcase of power also showed a mysterious shadow behind Mirai. With every bulb brightening and shattering the demons could see near identifiable markers of an angel stuck to her back.

"An angel... No"

"Yes... it is. Your all lucky the boss wants to talk to you and not kill you immediately. Consider yourselves lucky"

Reaching behind her back she yanked out her trump card. It was an ornate circular clay jar with a hexagram inside a circle engraved into it. Immediately the demons visibly recoiled as their seamless memory remembered the seal. Collapsing onto all fours the demons attempted to lunge towards Mirai but was hindered by the effect of her clay jar as it seemingly drew their shadows into the pot.

"Derech Elohim. B'sh'khina elohit zoh, koakh Shlomoh dokhek bekha. Shma nah, yeshut tme'a, galë nah et shimkha. Makhzik taba'at Shlomoh, ru'akh Shlomoh poked alekha! Elohim haborë vehayotser poked alekha"

With the final words of her incantation the escapees of Hell let out one defeating screech as their essence was forcibly sucked into the containment cell and soon enough their only exit was sealed off as Mirai slammed a lid on it. However this ordeal left the room a charred mess as Mirai brushed her hands together at a job well done. Walking back up the basement stairs again unsheathing her weapon as she clambered onto the living room to see the minor Gods sitting on their couch awaiting Mirai's judgment.

"Uh uhh-"

"Oh shut up you two. I'm not here to tie up your shoelaces every time you fall. I warned you about helping demons how long ago? Long enough for it to get inside your thick skull and what do we have here? A bunch of renegade demons without a vessel and two disobedient deities"

"Hmm... uhhh-"

"Maybe a memorable lesson will do the trick"

Breaking under pressure one of the minor Gods grabbed a nearby iron prod from their fireplace as she rushed towards Mirai but she quickly overpowered her by catching the rod in the air before clamping her mouth shut with her hands as white light began to erupt from her mouth and eyes burning them out as the angel tossed the charred corpse onto the ground.

"Such a pity but that is the price for harbouring stray demons. It seems that you have to be the message for all your disobedient brethren"

Forcing him down onto his knees with a flick of her finger she landed a good blow against his stomach with her foot before walking behind him choking him with her left arm whilst moving her knife's blade closer to the deity's face.

"Don't fret. This won't hurt a bit"

Mirai said calmly in a twisted manner before using her blade to cut deep and diagonally into his flesh holding him still as he writhed and screamed in pain whilst Mirai simply let out a soft but maniacal giggle. With one final slice she cut deeper into his skin before removing the blade from his flesh putting two fingers on the blade as she wiped it clean of any blood before dropping the scarred deity onto the ground letting him see through teary eyes Mirai leave through their front door letting the door swing back and forwards and as expected as soon as the angel left through the apartment door her footsteps could no longer be heard as she was now venturing towards the gates of Heaven itself.

Climbing up the wide marble steps she moved past the blessed human souls in the waiting line to the entrance to Heaven. Thinking she was an ordinary human the souls began to argue with her but ignoring them she ventured forwards and soon enough the souls stopped screaming when a pair of pure white wings materialized on her back. Walking towards the now visible gates which were actually less like gates and more like a human immigration desk in an airport with each desk filled with one lesser angel and expectedly beyond the desks was Mirai's younger comrade Uriel giving his week-long speech about Heaven which some demons that she captured told her was worse than Hell itself.

Jumping past the immigration gates with the help of her now visible wings she hoped to sneak past her brother but to no avail, as he suddenly stopped his welcoming speech to look gleefully at Mirai attracting the attention of all the souls as he walked over to her before wrapping his right arm around her shoulder. Uriel was a young man of above-average height and medium to athletic build. Two fine lines cross his face in semicircles passing the inner corners of his eyes. He sports a small, dark pompadour, the hair at his sides light and combed back closely. He wore a furry trench coat with a light brown sweater underneath paired with baggy pants and loafers.

"Sister! You're back from your mission"

"Yes I am and if you don't mind I have to report it back to the Archangels"

"Sure, sure. Before you go how was Earth? Haven't been down there since forever. Are humans still the same old baboons or have they actually done something useful"

"They've advanced a lot since the Rebellion, Uriel. You should ask Michael for a break and check Earth again"

"No time, sister! I have this amazing speech to deliver and I can't wait for the humans to hear it"

Shaking her head she retracted her wings inside her back whilst walking down the main street of the Silver City. Heaven was simply a megacity with building made out of a white and gold material. Most humans even compared Heaven to New York City except everything was made out of something white or gold. Walking towards the tallest skyscraper visible she was about to summon her motorcycle she left back on Earth when a familiar being appeared beside Mirai.

"Hey! You're back from your little trip to Earth. Bring me any presents?"

Killjoy casually approached Mirai with a notepad in hand. She wore what Mirai believed to be the most atrocious piece of clothing ever created. She decided that today she would don on a hoodie plastered with faces bearing rolling and crossed eyes, protruding tongue, and slightly reddened face as if they were in an eternal state of climax paired with jeans and sneakers which bore the exact same photos and her circular glasses made her eyes seem way bigger than usual. Mirai swore to herself if she found a bucket of acid lying around in the Silver City somewho, she would throw it without hesitation towards Killjoy.

"Why do I need to give you presents when we can literally summon any material object into our hands?"

"It's the thought that counts, my guy. It's morally right to bring your best friend presents when you go to a place they haven't even been to in a while. Soooo did you get me anything?"

Looking at Killjoy with a raised eyebrow Mirai quickly broke into a wide grin as she reached inside her coat pocket to pull out a dusty looking scroll with a few blood stains present on the parchment but the mere sight of it caused Killjoy to bounce up and down like some sort of caffeinated chicken.

"I know you have a new obsession with ancient artefacts and the puzzles they have so I got you some back at Earth. Surprised I didn't forget? Come on smell it, you won't smell a single bit of angelic power from my hands"

Taking a few sniffs, Killjoy cracked a smile at her friend before finally embraced her lifting Mirai into the air whilst tightening her already strong hug.

"I see I got the right thing"

Feeling Killjoy let Mirai back down onto the ground she composed herself again whilst admiring her gift.

"Thank you so much! I knew you would remember but now go! I'm sure Brother Michael's waiting for your pleasant report"

Walking away from her friend Mirai patted her on her shoulder before heading inside the military headquarters. Walking towards the reception desk she glanced around her to see endless hallways all around her with various angels of different ranks walking up and down it. Resting her arms on the reception desk she stared into the eyes of its receptionist.

"Is Brother Michael present? I have something to report for him"

"Sorry but Michael isn't curre-"

Her words were cut off when the flapping of wings could be heard coming from behind Sage. Many angels even though they've known Michael for nearly the entire lifetime of the universe still forgets that he is nigh-omniscience. Turning around she saw Michael wearing a costume similar to a white church robe, his long blonde hair was curly making him almost resemble a female if his extremely deep and velvety masculine voice didn't give it away. Behind his back were a pair of grey wings with every feather looking like a piece from a sword but his right wing was mildly damaged as it was visibly ruffled and was missing a few feathers plus some of his feathers were still splattered with blood whilst his other wing was spotless and flawless. His face would've been flawless if a large scar over his face wasn't visible at all. It started above his left eyebrow, crosses his nose and ends at his right cheek. His left eye was a milky white whilst his other eye was an iridescent colour similar to Mirai’s friend. All of these injuries were caused by his twin brother Lucifer during the final day of the Rebellion. It was a final play by him before he was cast out of Heaven.

"What do you have to report?"

He cocked his head to the left before a friendly smile crept onto his damaged face. His voice was extremely smooth and velvety. It was so calming that Sage thought that he could take a job as someone talking in a podcast or an ASMRist if he ever fell from Heaven.

"The stray demons you asked for me to capture has been done and the lesser Gods harbouring them have been dealt with and punished accordingly"

Retracting his wings into his body Michael grinned before visibly telling Mirai to stand next to him which she did swiftly. He seems to possess some injury to his right shoulder, with it being noticeably higher than his left likely due to his final battle with his rebellious brother. Handing Michael the jar he glanced briefly at it before cracking open a bright smile.

"I knew you could do it easily but I'm afraid we have another problem in our hands. A problem my own brothers are too preoccupied to do. Come with me, sister"

Hooking his right arm around Mirai's shoulders he walked down onto the streets before looking into her eyes.

"I know that you are incredibly experienced in slaying the unholy creatures that roam the Earthly plane but have you ever faced a higher demon? A prince of Hell?"

"No, sir. I haven't"

"As expected but no worries I will fill you in. They are beings who are the first generation of demons after Lucifer corrupted Lilith. They are stronger than any other demon except for Lilith and other demons who are on the same power level as her,"

Crossing his arms he looked out into the masses of buildings and skyscrapers whilst Mirai listened intently.

"There were reports a few months ago of the sighting of a prince of Hell. From the descriptions from other angels it seems that one of the progenitors of the ascended demons are roaming the Earth. Goes by the name of The Vampire. I want you to go back down to Earth and either capture or if necessary kill her. Her death if caused by your hands will severely hamper my brother's military progression thus we will have the upper hand for a few centuries at best"

"Consider it accomplished, Michael"

"That's the spirit now go and do what must be done and know that I will be watching with curiosity"

Flashing her another smile his form slowly faded away leaving Sage standing alone in the middle of the streets with Killjoy on the sidewalks on her phone taking selfies with her new accessories to share the photos with the rest of Heaven. Walking towards her friend she standed behind her posing for the last picture before sparking a conversation with her again.

"So what did Michael tell you? Before that I must simply tell you I love what you have gotten me! They're so good!"

"I'm glad you're enjoying it. Michael has once again tasked me with a difficult job but this one... I have a bad feeling about. I have to try to capture or kill a prince of Hell or more specifically one of the progenitors of the ascended demons. She goes by the name The Vampire"

"Ascended demons? Take out as many as you can! They're bad business for me"

"Of course, that's my job after all. See you later, Killjoy"

"Later, Mirai"

She quickly embraced her one last time before letting Mirai go. Resuming her selfies her friend walked towards Uriel again before sliding into an open elevator right next to him but not before she waved goodbye to him as the doors slid shut leaving Mirai all alone whilst she descended bact to the mortal plane.

"They don't know it but I still have you in my mind"

"Of course you do"

Reyna still in her tunic appeared right next to Mirai as they both descended.

"How many years has it been, little dove? It's been long enough. Move on. You can't keep thinking you can find me out in the field someday, It'll kill you one day"

"Never. I will never forget you. Not now, not ever, you hear me?"

Smiling slightly the mirage of Reyna only shook her head briefly before laying her hand on Mirai's shoulder.

"Then grab hold of the pain and hold it tight until it burns your hand and tell yourself to keep saving people, for me"

"Of course I will. I will never stop forgetting you"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Music I listened to on this chapter:  
> Avicii, Sandro Cavazza - Without You  
> Camila Cabello - Never Be the Same  
> Camila Cabello - Crying in the Club  
> Sam Smith - Too Good At Goodbyes


	2. Komorebi

**Sleepy Hollow suburbs, unknown location, 0034 hours**

Reyna pushed herself forward, supporting her weight on the cold and moldy brick wall to her right. The alley was dark and reeked of a lot of disgusting things at once. Paying these details no particular mind, the fallen angel forced herself to move on, however slowly. Her only concern was going forward, away from where she had been.

She hadn't fucked up things this royally ever before.

The job had been easy enough, she supposed. Get in, kill the target, get out. Nothing more to it. Or at least there seemed to be nothing more to it at first glance.

The target had been a treacherous lesser demon of a prestigious section of Hell which produced mythical weapons of mass destruction among other things. Delilah obviously didn't ask a lot of questions, but apparently, the guy wasn't too happy with the idea of selling this kind of equipment to the other circles in Hell.

The traitor needed to go. Permanently.

Which was where Reyna came into the play. Obviously she was specialized in making away with people who needed to go. All her superiors had to do was give her a name and a face and she would take care of the rest.

Simple as that.

The original plan Reyna had prepared would have the pencil pusher assassinated with her mere powers. She would strike exactly two hours after he got to work. At that time the target was usually spreading out his legs under his ridiculously large desk in his just as preposterously large office, just like he always did. At least that had been the target's routine the last few days, in which the prime purple-eyed ascended demon observed him. It would be a relatively easy kill with lots of room in case she got spotted and reinforcements got called. No problem for the best killer the world had to offer.

But then the target's paranoia seemed to have kicked in all of a sudden, and he had all the windows, both at the office, as well as at his home, replaced with transparent consecrated iron-plates. Nearly 8-inch thick armor, which was just as see-though as your common window was. That had put a slight damper on Delilah's plans to use her her powers for the kill. Not even her innate potent abilities -no matter how much of a punch she packed into it- was able to pierce that kind of protection unless she wanted to burn her entire body. 

Now she had to get up close with the target. Personal.

This wasn't how she liked to do things, but still; no problem. Two days later the demon made her move.

Sneaking into his home was easy enough. Thanks to her reduced body-temperature, the heat sensors didn't detect the intruder at all. Making her way into the home-office was child's play as well. She found the climate control room and gracefully lifted herself into the air vent duct, from where she proceeded. Completely standard procedure; nothing to it.

Even the kill itself had been almost boringly primitive. The target was sitting on his desk, his legs flipped up on the tabletop right in between two pictures. One of him with two little girls, both not older than maybe ten, the other with him and another woman, who might have been his wife. He was idly toying with a pen while leaning back into his chair, phoning with someone.

Delilah had dropped down from the air vent behind the target and waited for him to hang up. While she patiently waited for her opportunity to strike, she had to admit that her target did have excellent taste in furnishing. Warm beiges and darker chocolate browns were dominant colors, creating a welcoming and comfortable environment in the brightly lit office.

Reyna however didn't get to marvel at the beautiful office for much longer. Her target let his legs fall off his desk, putting the phone down after saying a warm and loving goodbye to someone. The demon patiently waiting behind him before immediately grabbing hold of his neck and brutally slicing it in half, splattering dark green blood and pieces of brain all over the two pictures on his desk. The victim's head fell forward, impacting on the tabletop with a loud noise before his body slumped to the ground.

Normally, this was the point, where the unfeeling fallen angel began to experience some life returning to her soul. But just like the last time, this one short moment of happiness was absent. Delilah huffed in annoyance, wasting a quick thought about the woman, who caused her emotional reward of killing to disappear. She could almost hear her friend giggle right behind her, sending a warm shiver down Reyna's spine.

This wasn't the time and place to think about her now! Delilah shook her head and concentrated on the task at hand. Her job was done. Easy and exactly according to plan.

Not as planned however was the rattling of the target's office door. If Delilah wouldn't have dwelled on Sage, she would have already been gone.

But that wasn't the case.

And now she was a little moment too slow for her escape when the door opened. The now-dead target's assistant, who also served as his bodyguard, suddenly burst into the office, catching an intruder right behind the dead lesser demon. Under normal circumstances, the assistant would have been dead as soon as she came through the door. But Delilah, raising her gun did hesitate for a moment. Why in the name of God did that stupid woman have to wear a turquoise and purple dress? Why did she have to wear Mirai's favourite colours?

If not for that, Delilah would have slaughtered the intruder without any hesitation. But the first impulse her brain provided her with was Mirai! For a moment she actually thought her bubbly friend found her after all these millennia. And that was why she hesitated and why she didn't follow her first impulse to kill the assistant.

She didn't want to shoot Mirai. Well, that wasn't strictly true. Sometimes a part of her wished she'd have infiltrated Heaven and shot the angel ages ago simply for all the sleepless nights Sage was causing, but that wasn't the point right now. She didn't want to kill Mirai at this moment.

Unfortunately, Delilah had been wrong. The woman coming into the target's office hadn't been Mirai.

And that was what gave the bodyguard, who really hadn't suspected to find an ascended demon in the office of her boss, the necessary advantage. That second or two in which Hell's master torturer hesitated was enough for the bodyguard to shake off her confusion, draw her pistol, and curiously, put a hole into Delilah's abdomen. Luckily, the bodyguard was a lousy shot, and the torturer was fast enough to blow imposter-Sage's brain out before she could fire another round. Cold iron rounds, fuck!

Reyna suppressed the pain in her stomach as she walked over to check if the intruder really was dead. Which she was, at least judging from her missing head, which was spilling blood onto the fine crème-white carped. The fallen angel took a moment to look at the dead woman for a bit longer.

Damn. Someone wearing a Mirai cosplay almost got her killed. Why was that woman wearing a freaking Sage cosplay? The purple-eyed demon didn't even want to know. The real Sage would never do as much as look at that moron, Delilah thought by herself, as the answer for her question basically forced itself in her mind. Pervert.

In disgust, Reyna turned around to leave. The dark-haired woman didn't bother making the scenery look like the two corpses shot each other. There was most likely one magical scent too many somewhere around the office, and a third person's smell was also all over the place. Not that it would be of much use. Delilah's blood rendered itself useless after it had been outside of her body for more than a few seconds. All hail Hell's foreign engagement department . Her blood would be completely indistinguishable from dirt soon enough. With an annoyed grunt, Reyna left the target's home, pressing a hand to her stomach to prevent excessive blood loss but to no avail as the sparkling golden blood kept on leaking.

She needed to go back to Perdition.

Which was why she now dragged herself forward, leaving a dark line of glistering blood on the disgustingly dirty brick wall next to her. She needed to get to safety as soon as possible. Her portal for the mission was still rather far away, but she'd make it.

It was her only option.

Delilah was forcing herself forward, even if each step felt heavier than the one before and her head was feeling light.

One step after another.

She'd make it. There had been worse situations which she escaped from. This was easy. No problem. Just keep walking and breathe deeply.

Her vision was losing focus more and more often, becoming completely blurry only to return to normal again. She was losing too much blood, yet moving was her only option. Reach the portal where there would be medical equipment on the other side. Reyna couldn't wait for her buds to fix her back up.

Focused solely on moving forward, the fallen angel wanted to turn the next corner, before someone walked right into her, knocking her off her feet.

She grunted in pain, as she fell to the ground together with the person who had knocked her over. Delilah wanted to hiss something aggressive and offensive, but then she saw it.

Her eyes, warm as the summer sun burning into hers like a fierce fire. A foreign warmth seeping into her cold body, the pain in her abdomen forgotten.

"Oy! I'm sorry! I didn't see you there!"

The other person started apologizing.

"Are you-"

She stopped to stare.

Sage didn't believe her eyes for one moment. The whole evening she had been racking her brain, trying to figure out how she'd approach a certain escapee of Hell. The whole evening she didn't have the first idea and now she literally ran into her.

She looked into cold, purple eyes, so foreign to this world, yet also so very scared at the moment. Delilah didn't make a move. She didn't attack her.

Nothing.

Something was not right.

Maybe it was the fact that she had been wounded. Maybe it was because Reyna's mind wasn't fractured like usual, or maybe it was because the warm body of Sage being once again on top of her felt so undeniably good that Delilah didn't feel any hostility. Whatever the reason, in that moment she didn't want to fight Mirai no matter how much she knew it would be what was expected of her. She simply didn't want to. And she also knew that she was in absolutely no condition to do so; but that was not the point.

"What a pleasant surprise, little dove"

She breathed.

"What are you doing here!?"

Mirai cried, completely overwhelmed. Her brain was trying to figure out the reason why Delilah could possibly be in front of her, but she couldn't think of even a single legit explanation.

"You don't want to know, little dove"

The fallen angel replied.

"Would you mind terribly, if we won't try to kill each other today?"

She asked, hoping that maybe Sage would just let things slide and she could be on her way to the portal. Her time was ticking away rapidly.

Mirai might have imagined it, but was there a slight smile on Delilah's lips? Was she happy to see her? Or was Sage just seeing what she wanted to see? No. The agent of Heaven was interpreting too much into the situation. This was just a really strange coincidence; nothing more.

But this coincidence still played right into Mirai's hands. If she didn't screw things up now, maybe she'd get a chance to come to talking terms with the person she wanted back in her life so much. For that to work she would have to be very careful now and not rush things. They were supposed to be sworn enemies. No one said anything else.

But she asked for a truce today, didn't she? Maybe I should just go for it?

Sage began by slowly sliding off Delilah with the intention of helping the Spanish-accented fallen angel back up. But before she could do that, Mirai noticed the random jacket she grabbed before heading out to the bar felt strangely wet. She thought nothing of it and looked down on herself. A lot of things she expected, none being particularly worrisome, yet the large sparkling gold blotch slowly soaking into her jacket made her throat tighten up. Mirai's eyes darted to Reyna's abdomen, which the assassin tried to shield with her hand. A striking pain of shock rushed through Kimur as her eyes went wide.

"You're hurt!"

She exclaimed, immediately crouching back down to her supposed rival's side. There was blood gushing out in between Delilah's fingers which were tightly pressed on to her wound.

"What do you care?"

Delilah asked. Surprisingly, she didn't sound hissing, or accusing, or anything like that. Instead she sounded really surprised. Maybe it really had to do with her excessive loss of blood, but for some reason she felt safe and comfortable in Sage's presence, which normally would have made her nervous. But not in this moment.

"I just do, mate. You need aid! I'll call for help!"

Sage replied with some very apparent panic in her voice. She tried to turn away from Delilah, but was stopped by a bloody hand.

"My little dove, if you call for Heaven's help, you could just as well kill me"

She said weakly. Delilah was an extremely wanted criminal, terrorist, and murderer in the Silver City. There was no way she could go to an angelic medic team and walk away the next day. She would be imprisoned immediately, and that could never happen. Should Hell learn that she was caught, they'd rather silence her than risk her spilling any secrets.

Sage scratched her head. For a moment she forgot who was lying on the street right in front of her and what would happen to her if she was caught. Mirai obviously didn't know about the consequences beyond imprisonment, but that alone seemed good enough a reason to not want to go to Heaven.

"Right... sorry. I forgot"

Mirai replied, thinking hard about what she should do. Well, she should call a squad and arrest the fallen angel for all the crimes she committed. She also should contact Heaven's HQ immediately, reporting the incident. She should hand the wanted murderer over to her superiors. It would have been the right thing to do.

But Mirai didn't do the right thing... obviously.

"If you want to help me, you should leave me alone"

Delilah said.

"No way in Hell!"

Mirai almost yelled if she didn't trip on her own tongue once she spoke the forbidden word, the reply so immediate it brought a small frown to Delilah's face. Mirai ignored it, while she quickly stripped out of her jacket, putting the still warm cloth over Reyna like it was a blanket. She had made her decision and knew it would either turn out to be best in her life, or the one she regretted forever. It made no difference now. Mirai wouldn't let Reyna bleed to death in a dirty alley... or anywhere else for that matter.

"What are you-?"

"Shut up, Lila, before I regret it!"

Mirai instructed, before adding.

"This is just this once, you hear me?"

Sage said, without even knowing why. Somehow she thought that keeping some distance at the moment would be good. She didn't want to make Delilah feel like this came with any obligations.

Sage needed something to patch Reyna up for now. Luckily, the Chinese-accented angel was wearing a dark blue long-sleeved shirt underneath her jacket. This would do just nicely. Grabbing the cloth and biting down on the shoulder, she violently ripped off one of her sleeves. The sound of tearing fabric echoed through the dark and silent alley, leaving Delilah wondering. What was this girl doing? Why was she even here? It wasn't like they were allies or anything, so... why? This wasn't going the way she imagined at all. None of it.

Quick and skilled fingers rapped the torn-off sleeve around Reyna's abdomen before the makeshift bandage was tied together tightly, a bandage had to suffice as Mirai would be breaking primordial rules of showing mortals magic. So far that was a kind gesture from the only one Delilah would have ever allowed to do that. If there was a part of her, that wanted to resist, it was too weak to convince her into doing so.

However, what really shocked Reyna was how Mirai suddenly let her arms glide under her cold body, picking her up bridal style.

However, what really shocked Delilah was how Mirai suddenly let her arms glide under her cold body, picking her up bridal style.

"W-Woah!"

Reyna cried out in surprise.

"What the hell are you doing!?"

"You said you didn't want us to kill each other today."

Mirai replied cheerfully. She tried to be optimistic now, because she was rather certain Delilah was very much aware of her serious condition.

"And leaving you to bleed to death would be just like killing you, innit right?"

"That's a strange way of looking at things, little dove"

Reyna replied, shaking her head. She would have never admitted it out loud, but right here in Sage's arms, feeling her warmth and getting the opportunity of talking to her, she could have died peacefully. Which unfortunately started to seem like a not so unlikely possibility. All those angelic and ascended demonic powers, Delilah still could bleed to death.

Still, better this way than on the cold floor, she supposed. No longer having the strength to hold her head up, she let it rest on Mirai's shoulder, inhaling her scent. She smelled like she had just come freshly out of a pub, smoke and alcohol were overlapping with the sweet flowery odour of Mirai's perfume.

"The truce is just for today, mate,"

Sage giggled cutely as she carried Delilah around the corner. Looks like her stroll would have to wait for another day. She really didn't mind. All that was important now was getting Reyna to safety and tending to her wounds. Easier said than done.

Her heavy head resting on Sage's shoulder, Reyna watched the world around her glide past. She was carried out of the dark alley and saw an inviting looking bar, which had a really odd name. There also were two blokes passionately making out right in front of the entrance.

"Have you been to this bar?"

Delilah wanted to know. On the one hand, because that typical pub-scent sticking to Mirai made her curious. In addition, the bar also didn't look like your ordinary tavern either. On the other hand, Reyna was starting to feel very tired. She knew that falling asleep now was possibly fatal in her situation, so she tried to keep herself awake by talking about whatever crossed her mind.

"Sure have. It's the local"

Sage replied, looking down to Delilah with a warm smile. It instantly made the injured woman feel more alive. Just why was it that the cold-hearted torturer felt so good in the company of one of her worst enemies. Was it all because she remembered more than ever before? Or was there more to it? Was there more in between them; something Delilah didn't understand yet? Something she didn't know, or knew once but was forced to forget?

"It's a gay-bar, isn't it? You haven't changed"

She asked plainly.

Mirai giggled again. She wasn't hiding her preferences from anyone. The thought of starting now didn't even occur.

"That's a strange thing to notice, mate"

She replied in a deliberately good mood.

"But yes, it is."

Half an hour later, Delilah was lying in Sage's hotel bed just barely conscious, while Sage had grabbed her headset. She was on the phone with someone, as she carried blankets and first aid kits to the bed. The torturer was too far gone to even hear the conversation Sage had with whoever was at the other end of the line.

Back at Heaven, the mental pager inside Skye rang so loudly, the medic almost jumped out of her bed in surprise. With tired hands she shook her head before accepting it.

"Mhhh? Skye here. What is it?"

"Skye, it's me!"

Sage's loud voice almost blew Skye's eardrum to bits.

"I need your help, brother!"

"Mirai? Do you have any idea how busy I am?"

Skye murmured, holding the phone away from her ear. Damn, it was the middle of the night and she wanted to finally finish her paperwork.

"How do I stop excessive bleeding from a gun-wound caused by a celestial round?"

There was the rattling of something metallic falling to the ground followed by some very heavy cursing.

"C'mon man, talk to me!"

There was sheer panic in Mirai's voice and suddenly Skye had forgotten about her crankiness. She sat up in her bed, straight as a candle.

"Why aren't you at a hospital?"

She asked in all seriousness.

"Can't. brother, what do I do?! Help me!"

Mirai pleaded, her tone making it very much clear that there was no time for asking long questions.

"Alright, I'll talk you through it. Get your magic ready because we're about to go on a ride. Ready?"

"Ready!"

"Good. First, you want to identify the wound, angelic weapon or magic? You recognize this by-"

"Angelic weapon, more precisely a bullet!"

Mirai's reply came immediately. She received the standard first aid training when she still was a wee little angel in Heaven's army. Identifying the kind of wound was barely within her capabilities.

"Alright. Is the bullet still stuck inside?"

Skye asked. Someone groaning in pain and some blankets being shifted was all she heard for a while before Mirai replied.

"Yes. I don't know how deep"

"Tell me the diameters of the entrance and the exit hole."

Skye demanded, before quickly realizing that Mirai would be exactly the kind of person, who would start running for a ruler now to measure the diameter. So the doctor quickly added:

"Is large or not?!"

More painful grunting and silently muttered apologies were audible at Skye's end of the line.

"Yes! Big"

"That's bad, really bad. It's safe to assume the bullet splinter then. Alright. You will have to bypass the uninjured flesh with your hand and pluck out the splinters. That's the only way to heal a wound like that"

Mirai snapped her fingers a few times leading to miniature sky-blue sparks to leap out at every snap.

"Yes, got it. What now?"

"Vibrate your hand as fast as possible and then you can phase through the tissue and to the splinters.This is important. Keep going until all of the fragments are in your hand. The wound might overflow with blood, but that's ok. Keep going,"

Skye said.

"This hurts like nothing else, so warn your patient."

"Got it!"

Mirai replied, the noise of her hand vibrating like crazy was transmitted to Skye.

"Mate, Skye said this hurts, so bear with me, alright? Don't worry. It'll over soon, I promise!"

Mirai said silently. A sound reminiscent of a chainsaw being used preceded the loud scream of another woman. Skye actually cringed a little when she heard that.

"What now? She lost a lot of blood, Skye. God, please help me!"

Mirai sounded like she was on the verge of crying.

"Calm down, my guy. Almost done. Just let her body heal up the wound. Apply a human bandage or something and I'm sure everything will be fine

Skye finally let out her final instructions before cutting her connections with Mirai.

**\---**

When Delilah woke up, she felt like she just had the strangest dream. She dreamt about being hurt during a mission and Sage heroically saving her from certain death. It actually felt more like a fantasy than a dream, something she would have wanted to happen but would never actually take place in that way.

Still, the idea of spending some peaceful time with the angel, who had occupied the most private corners of her mind, was nice. Reyna had given up on fighting that some time ago.

Looking at the ceiling of her room, Delilah had to notice that this in fact wasn't her room at all. The light wooden panels supported by heavy beams were completely foreign. She took a deep breath, but was stopped by a sharp stinging pain in her abdomen.

Wanting to lift the sheets off her body, she noticed an arterial infusion, which was hooked up to her right arm. Following the colourless tube from the needle inside her arm upwards, her purple eyes came to a stop at a freezer bag filled with what seemed to be sparkling golden blood. The bag was provisionally hanging from a bent metal coat hanger fixed to a floor lamp.

Carefully, Delilah wanted to pull the needle of the IV-bag out of her arm, but she found her hand being firmly held in place. Fearing the worst, Reyna looked to her left.

And what she saw felt like someone had punched her in the face... in the best way imaginable.

Sitting on an uncomfortable-looking chair, Sage had been watching over a sleeping Delilah for hours, until the magical exhaustion finally proved too much for her. She fell asleep, her face on the edge of the bed, while she was still half sitting on the chair. And all the time she had been holding Reyna's left hand tightly in her own.

Delilah gulped heavily. So it was no dream, no fantasy, and no whatever else. It really happened. With a heavy hand, she lifted the blanket up to find a large plaster on her abdomen. No dream indeed.

Delilah looked back at Sage, who was snoring cutely. She seemed so peaceful, so... happy. It was such a simple gesture of kindness, the way she held Reyna's hand like she wanted to reassure her that she wasn't alone and that there was someone there for her. It made the hardened fallen angel suppress tears.

Waking up here, seeing what she saw now, being where she was and remembering what she remembered, made Delilah feel so many different things at once. All of which positive, and none of which were feelings she remembered having ever before.

The warm morning sun was shining through the large windows, bathing the whole bedroom in beautiful light, like god meant to tell them there was hope.

Yet, Delilah knew better than that. There was no hope, no matter how much she felt like this was right. Like it was supposed to be this way. No matter how much she wanted to wake Mirai up and thank her for everything she did, Delilah knew it would have been a foolish mistake. She wasn't free to make her own choices. She wasn't free to give in to irrelevant desires. No matter how much she denied it to herself, she wasn't free at all.

Sage had made it clear: They were enemies.

"The truce is just for today, mate"

Reyna remembered these words very clearly. Sage had been absolutely right; today they would be back to fighting each other. The bubbly angel apparently had a strong sense of honour, not wanting her rival to bleed to death in a dirty alley. Apparently, she wanted them to fight it out one day, and the torturer was thankful for it.

It was better this way, Delilah supposed. No matter how much she wanted to get closer to Sage, it was a stupid idea. Every aspect of it.

No.

They would fight it out one day. Delilah knew it just as certain as she knew the outcome of that fight. The decision was an easy one. This wasn't her world anymore, and it was not her place to live on. Not when Sage would have to die in the dust in her stead.

Carefully retrieving her hand from Sage's so she wouldn't wake up, the wounded fallen angel removed the IV from her arm, before silently getting out of bed.

**\--------**

**Sleepy Hollow suburbs, weekly market near Mirai Kimur's apartment, two weeks later, 1027 hours.**

Mirai was browsing the different booths at the weekly market in her neighborhood which was taking place each Saturday at the civic center right in front of the town hall. It was a popular event, where fresh vegetables were sold along with various other different agricultural products. Kimur walked through the crowd, making her way from one booth to the next, sometimes chatting happily with the owners or joking with some customers. Chatting about meaningless stuff with the vendors was refreshing and took her mind off the events from two weeks ago.

In hindsight, Mirai shouldn't have been surprised when she found the bed in front of her vacant of the person she had put inside of it the night before. And truth to be told, she really wasn't surprised so much by the absence of Delilah as she was by the condition of her bed-room. All the blankets were folded neatly and stacked above one another, the clean sheets separated from those soaked in blood. The first aid kits were packed together and properly stored away, while all the used instruments had been placed in the dishwasher.

Reyna had cleaned up before she left.

Mirai couldn't help but laugh as she inspected her apartment. It might have been tidier than before. There also was a note left for her, written to the mirror in the vestibule with light red lipstick.

Muchas gracias, mi amiga.

I owe you

And the imprint of a kiss right next to it. Sage smiled like an enamoured teen at the note. Chances were she'd never wipe that away.

Somehow Mirai expected something to happen after that. Some hint or some event, that would lead her to Delilah one more time.

But nothing did happen at all. And she knew it had been a stupid wish. She had told Reyna herself that the truce would only be for one day. Back when Mirai said that, she did so hoping it would make the fallen beauty feel more comfortable. Yet now Kimur wished she hadn't said that. Maybe then Delilah wouldn't have left? Maybe.

Still, even with Reyna's absence, there was an overwhelming happiness spreading in Mirai's heart, making her cheerful like she never felt before. For the last two weeks there didn't pass a day, in which Delilah wouldn't appear in her thoughts one way or the other. Imagining a world where they could openly approach each other had become Sage's favorite diversion; it simply made her happy. She was aware that this feeling of bliss wouldn't be with her forever, but she still wanted to hold on to it for as long as possible.

What Sage wasn't aware of was the watchful eye which followed her ever since she had left her apartment. It was there the moment she had closed the dark green wooden front door, it was there on her hasty way to the market, and it was present now. Two beady eyes was staring right in between Mirai's beautiful raven eyes when she handed an elderly looking woman some coins before grabbing a juicy looking, bright red apple. Mirai smiled happily as she bit into the deliciously sweet fruit. Being an angel she didn't require sustenance for thousands of years but an occasional snack always brought joy to her heart.

The eyes followed Sage with deadly accuracy, wavering not once, as the Heavenly-agent strolled further around the market. There had been a couple of dozen opportunities for an absolutely deadly magical strike since Kimur had left her apartment. All the hidden magician inside the belfry of the town hall would have needed to do was wave or snap her finger and Mirai's fate would have been sealed.

But that obviously didn't happen.

Delilah wasn't here to kill Sage, no. And even if she was, it might have been most likely the first order she disobeyed. Luckily, that wasn't the case this time. The skilled fallen angel had again been sent to the minature town of Sleepy Hollow to get rid of some random businessman who had tried to scam Hell for some of their weapons and magical artefacts. And even though they wouldn't even have noticed the sum was gone in the grand total of things, the matter wouldn't be permitted to slide. Hell's Kings and Queens dispatched Delilah to find and dispose of him, leaving the planning and preparation of the mission to their operative, like they always did. She told her superiors she'd need maybe three weeks or more for the job and would return after everything had been taken care of.

That had been a brazen lie, the likes of which Delilah never told her superiors before. She entirely blamed Viper for it. She was the one who got her hopes and dreams back up and running when she distracted one of their superiors long enough for him to forget why he was angry at Reyna.

Or so she told herself.

But who was she really kidding here? It was Sage who screwed with her head so much. The last two weeks had been the worst torture and the sweetest heaven all at once. What the bubbly angel had done for her and why she helped her was still not quite clear to Delilah. What was clear, however, was the fact that the woman was undeniably stuck in her mind. Now even more than before. And while before Reyna tried to rationalize her feelings, telling herself it was just because Sage managed to get closer to her than anyone before, she now didn't care anymore. The black- haired angel with the warm eyes made her feel. She did from the moment they first met, and continued to do so every time they ran into each other. Their last encounter was proof enough. In fact, it was enough to convince the otherwise loyal Delilah to lie to her superiors.

The businessmen on which the hit had been put posed no problem whatsoever for the experienced torturer. He had been found and killed on the first day she arrived in the town. Ever since then, the purple-eyed hitman was watching Mirai, obviously without her knowledge. It was for that very reason Reyna told her superiors she'd need way more time for the job than she actually needed: just so she could study the girl, who made her insides tremble just by thinking about her, more closely. Delilah hoped she might be able to figure out why that was exactly.

Viper be damned, if she hadn't prevented their boss from remembering what Reyna did wrong, she wouldn't have the first idea where Sage was. But she remained on the field, and so the urge to interact with the bubbly angel grew stronger and stronger each day until Delilah decided she needed to at least see her.

And now she did see her; through her eyes, true, but she was there, as close as she could allow herself to get to the girl who made her feel alive whenever that cheeky smirk of hers flashed in front of her mental eye. Sage was so lively with such an unwavering positive attitude towards anything and anyone, even a hellion like Delilah.

Doing so much as imagining those large, black buoyant eyes Sage had made Reyna almost remember that she once was a warm and caring woman herself and most importantly the best of friends to Mirai. The bubbly angel was so full of life and so reviving that even thinking about her intoxicating smile, her warm eyes and her careful touch felt like being reanimated from hibernation.

And she was beautiful. From her head to her toes, there wasn't a thing Reyna would have changed; especially not those almost infinite legs, which ended in the most perfect butt God ever created. Wearing that bright blue, skintight pair of jeans didn't help reducing the attention to that particular feature of Sage either.

Reyna didn't even bother thinking about the idea that it could be abnormal for a woman to think that way about another woman. She simply accepted Sage as someone who made her feel and Delilah didn't give a single flying fuck where Sage's genitals were positioned. Not only because those kind of primordial reservations were among the first things Hell's training program blew into oblivion, no, but mostly because Delilah truly didn't care about it. There was the faintest hint of a straw in reach, which may be her ticket to something she thought impossible.

Happiness.

She wouldn't deny herself that because the person making her happy was another girl. Who the fuck cares seriously? Well, most people at Heaven cared, actually.

They would probably rather see me go out with that ridiculous pet chimaera than another girl.

The gorgeous torturer groaned, frustrated, letting her hands sink for a moment to blink a sharp pain out of her eyes. She had been staring for too long, memorizing every small detail about Sage. The way her hair bobbed with each step she took, her almost invisible and cheeky freckles which made her beautiful face so adorable, and her gorgeous smile which was enough to lighten up the night. Oh, what wouldn't Delilah give to be able to simply go down there and talk to Mirai.

But it was impossible, and not because her eyes were an unnatural shade of purple, which would attract all the unwanted attention, not because she had a flickering tattoo painting into her arm, and also not because she certainly wasn't dressed for a stroll in the market in broad daylight.

No.

Delilah didn't care about any of those things. She would have done it anyway if it wasn't for one fact: Reyna was sure that the first thing she'd see from Sage wouldn't be her candid smile, nor would it be her beautiful black eyes. No, it would have been the business end of her beautiful crystal shard wings piercing her body.

She couldn't really blame her. Their truce was for one day and one day alone. Sage had done more than enough to help her rival. They were back to being enemies again, and Sage had made that clear. Besides, Reyna wouldn't know what she'd say anyway.

All of this felt so stupid and so out of place. It might have been an ungrounded fear that Sage might attack her on sight, but it was a fear nonetheless. Delilah was so confused at the moment. She wanted to be close to Sage, but at the same time, she didn't. She hadn't the first idea of what to do, so maybe telling herself that approaching the bubbly angel would result in violence was just a feeble excuse for not having the guts to do something.

Reyna lifted her head again, letting her eyes glide over the market, searching for the girl which let her tiny emotional world blow up in a giant whirlwind. The eyes scanned over the crowd, but Sage was already gone. The hellion groaned again, letting her head sink down one more time. Of course she'd lose her in that crowd. How could she be so stupid? There were a million different alleys, corners, or even other stores which Sage could have vanished into in those few seconds she didn't pay attention.

The beautiful, purple and black-haired woman thought back to the last time Sage had vanished from her sights like that. That was back in the good old days, when she tried to steal Heaven's forbidden weapons together with Omen. She had her directly in her sights but of course didn't kill her. But Omen suddenly had to deal with that monstrosity of an archangel, so Reyna shifted her attention for the fraction of a second. By the time her watchful eye returned to where Sage had been, she was already long gone. Heaven's operative reappeared directly behind her just a moment later, letting off a witty comment with her alluring accent.

"Looking at me again? I'm flattered"

Delilah heard that voice of this one girl, who had rescued her, who did those confusing things to her soul, and who she had been watching those past few days like she was really there, right behind her.

Great, now I am already hearing her voice inside my head. I am going to go insane.

"At you, little dove."

Delilah replied out loud, completely ignoring that she would only go insane way faster if she started having conversations with imaginary Sages.

"Because I am a pathetic excuse of a woman who cannot work up the courage to talk to you, even after all you did for me. We should have extended our truce for a few days. I can't stand just looking at you from afar,"

Saying it aloud like that made it sound even more ridiculous than it felt. And it already felt pretty ridiculous.

For crying out loud, she was the deadliest, most dangerous assassin the world had to offer. She had killed people from completely impossible angles in even more impossible situations, taking risks no normal demons or angels would ever have taken, and walked away from it just fine. Yet she couldn't grow a pair and approach Mirai Kimur. Because of what?

Because they were enemies? Because they weren't supposed to talk?

No.

Because Delilah feared that Sage could feel similarly. That particular fear wasn't as bad in the past, but ever since Reyna was injured, it kept creeping in her mind like an annoying little bug.

Delilah was scared the bubbly angel would finally show an interest in her, giving the fallen angel a tiny insight in what she was truly missing out on. A normal life of sorts.

The thought alone scared her out of her mind. Not only would she lose everything for another time, but she would also endanger Sage as well, in a similar way in which she had killed her friends. Exploiting built up trust.

She could never let that happen. Ever. If one of the two would have to die, it surely mustn't be Sage.

Delilah shook her head violently, frustrated with the entire situation.

"Ay Dios mio!"

She whispered to herself.

"What am I even doing here?"

"You know, mate, we can extend that truce for as long as you want."

A voice Delilah surely did not imagine said from behind her.

"And if you want to ask me out, you just have to do so. I usually don't bite. You know me better than that"

She spun around on the floor, as if stung by an adder, just to see Sage standing right above her, boldly taking a bite from the apple she just bought while stemming one hand to her hip, pressing it to the side just a little bit.

The fact that Delilah was here, watching her browsing through the market was enough for Sage to throw all caution into the wind. The fallen angel was here just for her, and not her as a target, but for her as a person she might be interested in. Now was Mirai's chance, and she wouldn't let it pass by. But that meant being clear about her intentions from square one.

"If you want to go out with me, I'd love to, you know? We should've done that a long time ago"

Sage added cheekily, licking her lips followed by the cutest giggle Reyna has ever heard was enough to return her drifting thoughts back to reality.

"You know, mate, in your condition I wouldn't have noticed the person picking me up, yet alone some random bar."

Sage snickered.

"But yes, the pub."

Mirai took another bite off her apple, hesitating for a moment with if she really should say the truth so straight forward. Well, she always did, so why start beating about the bush now? There really was no reason.

"I'm as gay as girls come, so no false shyness!"

She announced, while winking at Delilah in a rather seductive way.

The overwhelmed assassin was never in her life before so completely dumbstruck. Her own body didn't comply with her brains commands anymore.

How?

Why?

She felt like someone dumped a huge amount of water into an undersized funnel. There were so many new things, new feelings and new information, which were only slowly trickling down into Delilah's conscious mind.

"How did you...? I thought Heaven forbade those kinds of debauchery"

She asked, still dumbstruck like never before. The woman with those beautiful purple eyes had no idea how Sage was even here right now. Because there was no way she should have been. Not that Delilah didn't like the idea, but there shouldn't have been a way Sage could have noticed her presence. Unless...

The black-haired beauty laughed happily.

"Well, I had an eye on the rooftops since you vanished from my apartment. And Heavens more relaxed with that rule after the New Testament"

Sage smiled.

"I didn't want to-"

"Kill me?"

Mirai finished the sentence.

"I know. You had plenty of opportunities to do that"

Sage said with her disarming smile, carefully sitting down on Delilah's knees, almost in her lap. It was a bit on the bold side, but Mirai didn't want to hold back any longer; she really wanted to be even closer to Delilah now that she already was so close already.

Unbeknownst to Sage, the natural warmth of her body was seeping into the hellion, making her heart beat unnaturally fast for her circumstances. It was the first time the hitman recalled that she felt like her heart way about to jump out of her body.

She inhaled sharply at the contact, but welcomed the warmth with an anticipating shiver. There went her plan of leaving Sage alone for her own safety. Simply being so close to the angel made her head spin and her cold skin tingle in anticipation.

"How are you? Your injury and... well everything else?"

Mirai asked with honest interest, running her hot hands gently over Delilah's arms. Not once did the angel break eye contact. Her deep dark orbs peered deeply into the cold purple like she tried to see what was underneath it. Delilah felt as though she were melting like warm butter in the summer sun, her petrified body cured by nothing but a gentle smile and a warm touch.

Sage had to be a witch. Or a drug. There was no other way to explain why else Delilah would feel so good in her company. So safe, so wanted, and so welcome. Gone was the fear Sage might reject her along with her reservations concerning that stupid truce. Reyna now saw it for what it was: A ruse. Meant to keep up a pretence. They were close friends once more.

"I'm alright. Don't worry; it's healing...faster than it should."

Reyna replied, before suddenly changing the topic. This was nagging in her head since Sage suddenly showed up, and Delilah didn't want to talk about her health anyway.

"How long have you been standing there?"

Mirai tilted her head sideways. "What you mean, mate? Didn't I ask you what you were looking at?"

Sage wanted to know, blinking innocently, like their current position was the most normal thing in the world.

The assassin just now seemed to realize what Sage had said before.

"Oh no!"

Reyna exclaimed.

"I... I thought I imagined that"

Mirai laughed cutely.

"No, mate, you didn't. I asked you"

Kimur obviously didn't realize what she was doing to Delilah. How she turned the smart fallen angel's brain into nothing but goo, just by the way she was talking to her. How she made her body respond in a way Delilah never experienced before, just by the way she was touching her, how her voice was a sweet symphony in those alert ears, and how the mere thought about Sage gave Reyna goosebumps.

Mirai didn't have the first idea that she wielded such power over the assassin. This was simply the moment she had been hoping for since Reyna burst into her life again.

Her one chance to say something to the hellion, and it was even in a rather peaceful environment as well. Mirai couldn't have hoped for a better opportunity than the one presented to her right in this moment.

Yet now that the time had come, she felt as nervous as never before. Dammit, Sage hadn't been nervous while talking to a girl since forever. Why now all of a sudden?! It was the worst possible timing! But Mirai just couldn't help it, Reyna looked even more breathtaking today than Mirai remembered, and gazing into those magnificent purple eyes made her forget her own name. Over the last few days, she tried to come up with witty or smooth things to say, and up until now, everything went according to plan, but now there was a really tricky part up ahead and the words Mirai had prepared were suddenly forgotten.

Kimur was left with no other choice but to ramble nervously.

"You know, it's funny, cause I actually wanted to talk to you. I kinda hoped to do it last time, but you were already gone when I woke up"

Mirai tried, turning the apple in her hand with shaky fingers.

"I really don't know why I brought that truce up the last time either, because the reality is... I... I kind of kept thinking about you and, well I... Didn't want to overwhelm you, because I... I..."

The words got stuck in Mirai's throat.

To Delilah, this was some kind of twisted paradise. Something long forgotten, something very much human awoke back to life deep inside her. Some part of her, which still had earthly needs and primal desires. It was something Heaven and Hell had tried to suppress with all their villainous methods, tried to suppress feeling.

But they failed.

They didn't fully achieve what they wanted. Deep inside Delilah, something was starting to heat up again, fueling her desires, making her feel a strange warmth in her chest. A warmth no number of kills managed to create before, a warmth she never thought was possible and a warmth which could only originate from those forcefully suppressed desires. Delilah didn't know a lot of them, but she recognized them when they showed up. One of those desires was right in front of her now, not even the length of an arm away, basically sitting in her lap.

Sage

The bubbly angel was so wonderfully close again, Reyna could feel the heat of her body and smell her intoxicating scent, both of which let her drastically slowed down heart beat higher and faster. If her world had been black and white up until now, in that moment it had turned into the most beautiful of lively colors without her even understanding.

She wasn't even listening to what Sage was trying to say anymore, because longing was ringing so loudly in her ears she couldn't hear her if she wanted to. She didn't need to listen; looking at Mirai was more than enough to understand. Inwardly, Delilah wanted to laugh at her own stupidity. She hadn't really thought that Sage would be hostile if she'd approach her. How could she honestly consider that a possibility? Mirai had saved her from bleeding to death in a dirty alley, let her sleep in her own bed, and held her hand through the entire night. She was her friend goddamn it, she will definitely always be.

You don't do that for people you consider your enemy. No one would. No matter what they say, ultimately what they do is of importance.

Delilah wanted to laugh. How could she seriously assume anything else but the truth?

Sage always fancied her. Delilah didn't know why, and she didn't know how, but it didn't matter anymore.

In that moment, Reyna couldn't hold back anymore.

She knew this was wrong.

She knew it was dangerous for both her as well as Sage, but there wasn't a thing she could have done against it. An overwhelming urge to touch pulled on her heart as the otherwise cold and collected Delilah lost the iron grip which was forced on herself by Hell for the first time. She leaned forward to do exactly what her soul yearned for.

Touch Sage. Touch her. Feel her. Taste her. Do it!

Mirai suddenly opened her eyes wide in shock as the girl she tried to clumsily convey her situation and weird feelings to and who, up until now, hadn't done anything but stare at her like she was a ghost, suddenly shot up. Delilah held Mirai's flushed face with gentle, yet horribly cold hands before she brought her face closer to Mirai's. Delilah's sudden golden eyes were peering into Sage's ethereal blue ones, glistering with surprise and anticipation. Reyna was so close to Mirai, she could already feel the warmth of her skin on her own. After a very brief moment of hesitation, Delilah tenderly pressed her lips onto Mirai's. A wave of electricity rushed through both of their bodies, as Delilah brushed her lips over this beautiful forbidden fruit.

For a second, Sage's body froze solid in shock before she realized that this was really happening.

It was no dream.

It was no wild fantasy either.

This was real life.

Mirai's eyes fluttered closed before she granted Delilah's equally cold tongue entrance into her mouth, returning the kiss with hot passion. This felt so unreal, yet it also felt so infinitely better compared to the fantasies Mira ihad masturbated to on a regular basis since her departure from Heaven.

She felt the apple she held in her hand glide out of her fingers as Delilah intensified the tender kiss. The red fruit fell to the ground, probably rolling out of the belfry and falling down onto the civic square. Sage didn't mind; she was too caught up in the moment, letting Reyna explore her mouth. Her hands wandered up Delilah's bare back, drawing warm circles on exposed cold skin, when Reyna suddenly wrapped her arms around Mirai's body, picking her up and lifting her into the air. A few steps later, Sage found herself pressed to the wall of the stair-house in the middle of the belfry, moaning with appreciation at the more and more violent attack of Delilah's tongue.

If Mirai had died in that moment, she would have gone happily and without another wish in the world. Her heart was beating as fast as it never did before. If there was something better than the Silver City itself, this had to be it. Delilah smelled wonderful, like fresh flowers in a field right after a heavy rain, and her lips were unexpectedly sweet. Mirai could no longer resist the urge, so she let her hands run through Reyna's deep purple and raven hair. It was just like she imagined; the feeling of what had to be liquid silk.

Mirai wouldn't have minded if the encounter would have continued forever.

Yet it was over as soon as it had begun.

Delilah suddenly pulled away, taking a step back, leaving a heavily breathing Mirai leaning into the wall, her face flushed all over, and her knees weak.

Mirai needed a moment to realize the assassin looked scared out of her mind. Her beautiful golden eyes were wide open and shock was written all over her face as they turned back into their original purple form.

What had she done? How could she have done that? Now everything was different, everything changed. She just deliberately turned her own world upside down, completely ignoring the dangers. If Hell or even Heaven found out about this, they'll turn her against Sage quicker than you can say, Jesus Christ. They'll force her to kill the beautiful angel before they'll tear her mind apart once again and the same will likely happen in Heaven.

No, no, no, Hijo de puta, this is not really happening now!

She should never have come to this place in the first place!

"What's wrong, love?"

Mirai wanted to know silently, her face showing her confusion. 

"I-I'm sorry, mi alma"

Delilah whispered. "I'm sorry" she repeated. This just didn't happen! She didn't just allow this to happen?! Why, why, why did she?! Why did she get caught up in a moment? This had never happened before! Holy shit, Reyna felt so much; all at the same time, and it all felt so good.

But the better it felt the more dangerous it got for both of them. This couldn't be. It was absolutely impossible! Oh god, she wouldn't only lose everything after her time on Earth is over. That wasn't seriously happening now, was it? Maybe it wasn't too late yet? Maybe she could still get out of it?

"I have to go"

She said, turning to leave.

"Delilah!"

Sage called, reaching out for her hand to stop the beautiful woman from leaving. Her hand firmly grasped the other one's, fingers interlacing with each other.

"Don't go now!"

She pleaded.

Her name was floating heavily in the air, like it had its own echo.

"Delilah! Delilah"

_Delilah_

Reyna couldn't believe her own ears as she heard this foreign name, a name she didn't recognize for a long time, but which felt oddly familiar. For a moment she was confused, but then there rushed a sharp pain in her head, like someone had stuck a thin needle into her brain. A brief moment passed and suddenly a wave of short blurry images and distorted visions flashed into her mind. Reyna had no feeling of time and the voices were muffled, but she felt like remembering something long forgotten.

Gleeful laughter.

_Her own. She hadn't laughed since the Fall._

An elder couple smiling at her.

_Her parents. They have long since abandoned those faces._

A woman wearing a turquoise toga in front of an altar

_Mirai, her only friend. She had long forgotten how true friendship felt like._

The elder couple again, telling her they were proud.

_She barely heard them talk_

A teenage Sage dragging Reyna into the dense crowd of angels dancing

_It felt like that never happened._

An endless sky filled with relentless gushes of wind. Her body being brusied, cut and burnt. Horrible pain. A forlorn scream as her wings were burnt off.

Delilah

It used to be her name. She didn't remember.

Delilah squeezed her eyes shut for a second and looked away. The images whirled up in white dust, taking the stinging pain in her head with them. And when she opened her eyes again, she felt like something important had been in reach for her to grasp, but the opportunity had already passed by. Instead her eyes peered into warm raven orbs, a concerned one-sided smile brought her back into the here and now.

"Love?"

Sage asked, her voice heavy with worry. Delilah looked heartbroken, and not only that, she generally looked broken. Her golden eyes had suddenly lost their spark as she seemed to realize just how much was taken away from her.

"I don't remember Delilah anymore"

She whispered bitterly, as a cruel reality dawned on her.

"They erased her out of my head"

Reyna said, not wanting to even think about this.

Mirai shook her head in clear disagreement. There was no way she would ever let that happen.

"They won't be able to erase me! I will remind you about you every time we meet! You are still Delilah deep inside yourself; I'm sure of it! They just made you forget! I'm sure you'll remember if you have enough time."

Reyna laughed a sad laugh.

"Time is the one thing I don't have. It all just disappears, doesn't it? Everything you are, gone in a moment. Like breath on a mirror. Any moment now, she's a coming"

"Who's coming"

"Delilah"

"You... you are Delilah"

"Yep. And I always will be. But times change, and so must I. We all change when you think about it. We're all different all throughout our lives. And that's okay, that's good. You've got to keep on moving. As long as you remember all the people that you used to be. I will not forget one line of this, not one day. I swear. I will always remember when Delilah was me"

"I have to go, little dove. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry"

"No! No! You don't have to! Let me help you, Delilah!"

Mirai exclaimed, pleading the beautiful assassin with her eyes.

"I can help you"

She added in a whisper.

Reyna's smile brightened up, as she stepped forward and placed a quick peck on Mirai's lips.

"You are as sweet as I you have always been, little dove"

She said silently.

"But for me, all help is too late. Next time we meet, be careful. I am dangerous. I might be under a curse. I might try to kill you. Don't approach me with your guard down, understand?"

"I..."

Sage felt tears build up in her eyes as a sour knot choked her throat.

"Hush, my dearest friend"

Delilah replied.

"Just be careful next time, si?"

"No!"

Sage exclaimed.

"Dammit, I won't let you leave now! You can't just watch me for days, kiss me like you want me, and then leave me standing here! I'll go crazy, and when I do, who will remind you of what we shared, when I sit in the loony bin?"

Reyna looked sad. It sounded so cruel the way Mirai said it. No matter how painful it was to admit it, Delilah knew full well how Sage must have felt. It wasn't like she didn't want Sage; quite the contrary. The fallen angel would have liked nothing better than to stay with Mirai from now on, until the end of God's life. But the things she wanted and the things she should do, unfortunately, weren't the same.

A quick step forward brought Reyna close to Sage's face again. For a short moment, she seemed to hesitate before she, once again, kissed the beautiful woman with mesmerizing ethereal blue eyes. A long, soft and gentle kiss.

"If I could decide, I would stay with you"

She whispered.

"But I can't decide. Hell would come for me...and they would find me. They would take me back and kill you. Or even worse, they'd break you like they did to me. I don't want that to happen, little dove. I don't want anything to happen to you. Which is why I have to go."

Reyna smiled as supportively as she could, looking into Sage's hurting eyes. This was necessary, the assassin knew it, yet why did it have to feel so brutally cruel?

"Next time I see you, don't you dare not be under some curse! You hear me? If you do, I'll make you!"

Mirai replied bitterly, her voice hurting while speaking. A sour knot in Sage's throat was dangerously close to suffocating her. Sage tried as best as she could to not start crying, but she failed miserably. Why was the world so cruel? Just some time longer with Delilah was hardly much to ask for, wasn't it? So why did things have to end now of all times?

"Now I, at least, have some motivation"

Reyna smiled, pronouncing the last word with a heavy Mexican accent. Carefully retrieving her hand out of Mirai's grasp, Reyna reached up to Sage's face, gently wiping away the heavy tears which started to fall down those freckled cheeks. They were turning her beautiful raven eyes slightly red.

"No need to be sad, darling."

Reyna said,

"Just promise me you'll be careful, Por favor?"

"I promise, love. I promise"

Mirai sniffled, still trying not to break down crying like a little girl, and still not winning.

"Thank you so very much, my little dove"

The hellion replied sounding both relieved as well as thankful. Taking a step back, Delilah kicked her coat up from the floor and slid into its arms with a precise move. She kissed her hand and blew the sign of affection toward Sage while the fallen angel dropped out of the belfry.

Mirai raced to the edge, but Delilah was already gone, and with her she had taken Kimur's heart.

Why did it have to happen this way?

Why?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Music I listened to on this chapter:  
> Bonnie Tyler - Holding Out for a Hero (FYI one of my favourite songs)  
> Stealers Wheel - Stuck In The Middle With You  
> Simon Curtis - Diablo  
> Ariana Grande, Social House- Boyfriend  
> Mark Ronson, Camila Cabello - Find U Again  
> Kelly Clarkson - Love So Soft  
> Ariana Grande, Iggy Azalea - Problem  
> Lewis Capaldi - Someone You Loved


	3. React

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Misunderstanding

**Sleepy Hollow, Hotel Room of Mirai Kimur. The next day, late afternoon.**

Bubbles were rising through the clear water to the top, fast and in higher numbers than Mirai could have possibly counted. They violently exploded on the furiously trembling surface, making loud splashing noises. Down below the unsteady surface, numerous long yellow strings were twitching back and forth whenever a hot bubble formed on the metal ground before it quickly rose through the water. It was a strange spectacle of normality, magnificent in its simplicity and yet of such significance.

Sage stared into her pot of boiling noodles like it was an entirely new universe. She hadn't eaten the entire day and now she completely zoned out. Replaying the kiss she shared with Delilah the day before over and over and over again in her head almost drove her nuts. Being alone right now felt like torture, but it couldn't be helped.

Mirai had called Skye some time before, but her friend apparently wasn't at home, and her any attempts of a mental was only answered by the mailbox. She would have really liked to talk to Skye right now; if only to take her mind off Delilah. Of course, it would have been even better if she could have somehow reached out for Reyna, but that, unfortunately, was impossible. So, since the only two people Sage would have wanted to talk to weren't available, she had decided to stay in bed all day long, curled up in her blanket until boredom drove her out.

And now Sage was cooking noodles. Or better yet, watched as the noodles cooked. She really didn't do a lot apart from putting them into the water. Somewhere in her head a voice reminded her that she would need some kind of sauce, or really anything, to eat alongside the noodles, but Sage didn't care.

It wasn't like Mirai was in a bad mood. Not at all. Her mind was just stuck in the previous day. During her long day alone in bed, Mirai had done nothing else apart from thinking about  _ her.  _ It took Sage some time, but she carefully recalled each and every last encounter with Delilah, and tried to figure out how her feelings developed. After some hours, Mirai realized that she hadn't felt like this in a very, very long time.

A really, really long time.

Sage had been truly in love only once before in her life. It was a girl named Jett, a classmate of Mirai back when she was still young. It was said girl who made Mirai realize she liked women, it was the girl who kept her awake at night for the first time ever and it was the girl who made her heart ache with desire stronger and more painful the longer Sage was separated from her.

Mirai's childhood crush never reciprocated her feelings.

It left the young angel devastated. She had joined the military at sixteen just to get away from her section of Heaven; from the people who reminded her about the days she had been in love, and from the woman herself.

It worked. Mirai's feelings for Jett faded away. She forgot until Jett was but a distant memory. A good one, but a memory nonetheless. Mirai had a demanding job as a foot soldier which was keeping her busy, and of course over the course of so ten years there had been a selected few other girls, who were more than happy to be with Sage and whom she allowed to be with her. She moved forward through life, growing together with different lovers and growing apart over time again, but no matter what, no one could compare to Jett. No matter how much time passed, no matter how close she was to her girlfriends, not one could evoke the same kind of fire in Mirai's heart as Jett had done before.

No other girl managed to make Mirai Kimur fall in love.  _ Truly  _ fall in love. Until yesterday, when a familiar fallen angel took hold of Mirai's face and kissed her lips ever so tenderly, igniting that long-dead flame with unparalleled energy once again. And now a strong fire was burning for Delilah deep inside Sage's heart. She was in love for the second time in her life.

Oh, how she wished for Reyna to be here with her now. They could cook and enjoy dinner together in Mirai's peaceful little room, pretending the world was normal. Mirai would hold Reyna close and never let her go again. She would hold her tightly and she would tell her how much she needs her; how much she  _ loves  _ her.

But that was impossible.

Unfortunately.

A bright smile tugged on her lips as Mirai imagined how their next encounter could possibly look like. Maybe during sunset? On a rooftop far, far away? With a lot of time and nowhere for Delilah to run off to? She would see to it that Reyna wouldn't  _ want  _ to leave, even if she could. Oh, the things Mirai wanted to do with her. To catch up on lost time.

_ Paradise. Naked hot skin pressed on cold naked skin. Hot touches. Silent whispers of affection and soft kisses full of desire. Her hand gliding down Delilah's neck and slipping inside that tight suit of hers, carefully grasping the soft flesh underneath, her other hand tracing up fine lines along Delilah’s thigh while her fingers gliding under the suit to carefully tend to the hardened... _

A loud ring of the doorbell pulled Mirai out of her daydreaming. She shook her head to get her mind out of the gutter, forgetting to turn down the heat of the stove. Walking to the front door, Sage unlocked and opened it to check who was visiting.

As if the bright ginger mane wouldn't have been a dead giveaway already, the deep emerald eyes and a happy smile definitely were.

"Surprise, dude!"

Skye said happily holding a bottle of fine red wine.

"Girls night today. What do you think?"

Mirai couldn't help but grin like an idiot.

The irony in this visit.

Now it was rather clear why Sage had such difficulties reaching her friend. This really was a surprise, and a rather welcome one as well. Skye's company was exactly the kind of thing Mirai needed right now since the woman she wanted to be with so badly obviously would not show up.

"Oy, you are wearing way too much for a girls night with me, mate"

Mirai replied with a bright smile, stepping aside to let Skye into her apartment. The Heaven's medic was wearing a crop top jacket paired with a skintight dirt-brown t-shirt, black pants, and matching heels.

Skye shook her head in amusement.

"Careful, one day I might actually play along just to see what you do"

Skye replied with a smirk as she walked into the flat. She set the wine onto the cupboard in the vestibule, noticing that someone wrote onto the mirror right above it using red lipstick. Someone Spanish.

_ Interesting... _

"Well, I obviously would take you straight to bed, no questions asked"

Mirai replied with a giggle, taking Skye's coat from her and hanging it on a hanger.

Skye nodded toward the mirror.

"Why do I get the feeling that someone else would ask, though? You are such a player"

Skye teased, suppressing a laugh. Mirai was turning a little red as she looked at the note left on the mirror. To her eternal luck, her friend had no way of knowing who wrote that message. But the mere thought of the person who did leave those lines behind for her sent a shiver through Mirai. Where could Delilah be right now? Somewhere out there, alone and possibly in danger? Sage didn't want to think about it further. She wanted her to be here in safety and not somewhere out there doing God knows what.

"You got me on that one"

Mirai replied, trying to pretend like it was no big deal. She didn't want to imagine the lecture Skye would give her should she find out who the person of her desire really was. She also didn't want to imagine how many different things could possibly go wrong in their line of work. It wasn't like Delilah and Sage were so terribly different in that regard. They both were field agents; just for different sides.

It was pure madness even thinking about it.

So, Sage tried to sound like everything was fine, pretending her world was totally the way it always had been just with the added bonus of a random Mexican girl she fancied; not that anything could have been strange about said woman. Not at all. Nothing celestial.

Skye must never know.

"Tell me everyth-"

Skye stopped herself from talking further, as she inhaled deeply, smelling the air.

"Does something here smell a little... odd?"

She asked with a slightly confused frown. She really was interested in the story behind the message on the mirror. Skye wasn't stupid by any stretch of the imagination. Hell, she invented spells that revived the dead, so she was very well capable of making the connection between the lipstick-lines and Sage's phone call two weeks ago. Yet the strange smell in the air forced her to stop that line of thinking in favor of a more pressing one.

It did smell like something was burning.

Mirai tore her eyes wide open in shock

"The nooooodles!"

She exclaimed loudly, dashing away into the kitchen. All Skye saw was the blurry blue line of Sage's crystalline wings while she whooshed off. Some metal rattled, and Mirai screamed loudly before she suddenly reappeared right next to Skye with her wings suddenly retracting into her body. The beautiful angel quickly checked her hands and sighed in relief.

"You touched the pot, didn't you?"

Skye stated without looking. It was rather obvious.

Of course, Mirai touched the boiling hot metal pot with her bare hands. Of course, she got burned badly. Of course, she had to reverse her own body time to undo the damage. And of course she denied it.

"...No?"

Mirai lied badly, rubbing her thumbs.

Skye sighed, shaking her head.

"Sometimes I really wonder what God put in between your ears"

She stated flatly.

"Oy, don't be mean to me, mate!"

Mirai complained.

"I panicked"

She said, looking cutely at her friend. Large puppy eyes have always been the best weapon against Skye.

"You never had a hand for cooking"

Skye laughed.

"Come. I'll help you"

Helping Mirai cook actually ended up with Skye not just helping, but doing all the cooking. When she saw that her friend hadn't even thought about some kind of gravy for the noodles, Skye decided that Mirai's help would be rather useless today. So, she sat her down at the little table in Mirai's combined kitchen and dining room, poured her a glass of the wine she brought along and told her to not get up until dinner was done.

"Why are you here?"

Mirai asked, taking a sip from the wine.

"Shouldn't you be on duty?"

"Michael kicked me out; said my holidays are overdue"

Skye replied with a shrug, adding some spices to a deliciously smelling red gravy, which the medic magically created out of nothing. Mirai had no idea she had so many ingredients at home, but apparently Skye knew her cupboards better than she knew them herself.

"So you thought to yourself, oy, I got vacation, let's go and grate on Sage"

Mirai smirked mischievously. Slowly turning around, Skye shot her a deadly stare while her hand searched for something on the kitchen-counter.

"Don't you dare think I wouldn't check on you after you called me because of that gun wound"

She accused loudly, suddenly tossing the kitchen-rag into Mirai's face.

"Today is literally the first opportunity I got to get out of HQ and here I am. I was worried, ok?"

"I was joking, mate."

Mirai giggled, rising her hands in defeat. There was no way she'd ever win such an argument with Skye.

"You know I always enjoy your company. You don't need a reason to stop by."

"I better hope I don't, bro"

Skye jested, turning her attention back to preparing dinner. She had done this so many times, cooking a meal in what was technically a foreign kitchen didn't feel weird in the slightest anymore. Skye knew the place like it was her own.

"I'm really glad you helped out when you did"

Mirai said, suddenly very serious. She rubbed her hands together, looking completely lost the way she was almost hiding behind the table and her glass of wine. If it hadn't been for Skye, heaven forbid, Delilah wouldn't have made it.

Skye bit her bottom lip while she was stirring the sauce.

"It was the girl you like so much, wasn't it?"

She asked.

"The one who got shot"

When Mirai didn't answer, Skye turned around to see her friend staring blankly into her glass of wine. The smile on her lips was gone and she hugged herself like she was cold. Well, maybe she really was. Mirai hardly wore much to begin with. A cropped grey shirt and some  _ very  _ skimpy red shorts was all. But Skye doubted it; her friend wasn't cold.

Something was bothering her.

"Mirai?"

Skye asked, turning the heat of the stove low, before she walked over to her best friend and crouched down at her side.

"What's wrong, man?"

She asked, reaching for Mirai's face and turning it toward her. Seeing glazed dark eyes on the verge of crying sent an anxious shiver through the doctor.

"I..."

Mirai croaked. She didn't know what to do, the weight on her heart was becoming unbearable. There wasn't a single fibre left in her body not yearning for Delilah. She wanted to scream, but knew she couldn't. She wanted to tell Skye everything, but knew it was impossible. And now Skye brought up that one night in which Reyna was almost taken from her. She saw the gorgeous girl lying in her bed, bleeding badly, her breathing shallow and her pulse slow. And Mirai knew she would never want to see that again. If she ever wanted one thing, it would be safety for Delilah.

But that was not within her possibilities to decide. The assassin had to go, leaving Mirai behind in a state of almost painful desire. The memory of those cold, sweet lips on their own made her dizzy.

"I love her"

Mirai whispered, before she felt gentle arms reaching up to her. Skye pulled her off the chair and into a caring hug.

"I don't want to lose her"

Sage added with trembling voice.

"Mirai, why didn't you bring her to one of our medic squads here?"

SKye asked seriously. So many questions were left unanswered, and Skye knew better than to drill any deeper, but she needed to know at least something.

"She..."

Sage hesitated, not knowing what to do.  _ God damn it, I need to talk to someone or I'm going to go insane! _

"She has some legal trouble. It's not her fault, it's just... difficult for her at the moment"

For a while Mirai was silent, letting herself be calmed by her friend. But then another wave of anxiety washed over her and she tightened her grip around Skye.

"God, Skye. She's out there all alone, doing God knows what. I'm so worried!"

"There is nothing you can do about that now, is there, hm?"

Mirai shook her head.

"No..."

"See? So you don't have to worry so much. I'm sure she will come back to you"

Skye said with a bright smile on her lips. She was well aware that now wasn't the time to broach her concerns regarding the other woman. Sage had different things on her mind right now. There would be another opportunity, to ask if Sage was sure a relationship with a criminal would be a good idea. Whoever it was. Hopefully no one too bad.

"You should eat something. The world will look a lot better with a snack"

Skye said supportively, letting go of Mirai.

"I wonder how you survived the last two weeks like that"

She said with the faintest hint of humor hidden underneath her supportive smile.

"I saw her yesterday"

Mirai admitted, avoiding Skye's gaze as if the medic would somehow be able to read the identity of Sage's crush right off the back of her eyes.

"Oh, really? What happened?"

Skye asked gently. She had never seen Mirai this sensitive before. The way she was huddled on that chair, she looked almost squeamish.

Sage blushed in a light shade of red as she recalled the events of the day before.

The belfry. A soft and warm wind brushing though her hair, carrying the sweet scent of Delilah into her nose. And then the touch of Reyna's cold lips, just as gentle as the soft wind, on her own. The spark of desire. The electric excitement.

"She kissed me"

Mirai admitted, nibbling on the nail of her right thumb.

"And then she left me."

She added with such definitiveness, sending a cold and very uncomfortable shudder running up and down Skye's spine.

And suddenly, the emerald-eyed medic understood.

**\---**

**Portalling House at the very edges of Sleepy Hollow, around the same time**

The dark world outside the window wasn't aware of her presence. Not the people in the apartments on the other side of the road, not the ones walking on the sidewalks down below, and not her neighbors. No one knew she was here, and no one had seen her arrive. Delilah was alone in this world. She was a shadow, gliding from one dark corner to the next. Unseen, unheard, and unnoticed.

It had always been this way. Or at least for as long as Delilah remembered. Loneliness had always been her friend. Loneliness didn't ask bothersome questions. It didn't mean to assume things about you, and it didn't talk you into things you didn't want to do. Being alone ensured her work was done properly and professionally. There never had been even a moment when Delilah desired to  _ not  _ be alone anymore.

But that had changed. She was growing increasingly weary of her life in solitude and confinement; of her Hell imposed isolation and of scurrying from shadow to shadow all on her own.

Alone. It felt bothersome. Over the course of the last few weeks it started to annoy her.

Delilah knew full well why that was. Her sudden longing for company was all Sage's fault. If she hadn't gotten so close to her, if she hadn't picked her up in the street, and if she hadn't... But Sage had. And now Delilah couldn't help but yearn for change. She wanted to escape her life in the shadows so badly. She wanted to walk openly in the sunshine for all the world to see and with Sage at her side. The desire was almost painful.

But it was a fantasy. A fantasy of a foolish little girl, and one Reyna knew would never become reality. She was well aware of the different worlds they lived in, and while it was true that their line of work crossed paths from time to time, Delilah was smart enough to know that what she desired so badly would never work. It was probably even better if it didn't since it would keep Sage safe. But that thought didn't really help Reyna cool down.

Drumming her slender fingers on the tiny table in the small attic serving as safe haven in Sleepy Hollow, Delilah looked out of the drafty window, observing the people outside. They were completely oblivious to the deadly threat above their heads, watching them, all going about their lives, like little ants, stubbornly following one another. It was pathetic. It was boring. They all were meaningless.

The only person Delilah didn't think of as meaningless was the one she left alone in the belfry yesterday.

It had been a horrible decision.

No matter how much Delilah rationally knew it had been the right call, her heart told her that she had been stupid beyond measure.

_ I left because I thought I would then remember. Who am I kidding? I will not remember. _

It was impossible. She was way too emotionally invested. Hell, she imagined what a normal life with Sage would look like. She dreamed about holidays together and about quiet evenings on a rainy day on a couch, safely held in Sage's warm arms.

Sage had become the most important memory Delilah ever possessed. And her superiors would definitely spot the memory next time she talked to them, erasing all her longing for a normal life, for love, and for freedom, just to leave a hollow shell behind. A shell devoid of emotions and with the sole purpose of killing. Sage would be an enemy again, the feelings about her forgotten.

It was inevitable.

Delilah knew it.

So why didn't she spend as much time as possible with her now that she still had the chance? If she would forget anyway, why not make the most of the time they  _ could  _ have together?

Delilah didn't know, and she hated herself for it.

Even thinking about Sage made her feel a lot warmer already, so how much warmer would she feel touching her again? Feeling those sweet, hot lips pressed to hers like there was no tomorrow? Relishing in the touch of her warm hands, roaming freely over her body, feeling the amazing burn it left on her cold skin?

She needed to see Sage again.

Now.

Reyna jumped off the fragile old wooden chair in the attic, grabbed her stuff, and was gone.

**\---**

The rooftops were lonely and abandoned, just like always. Delilah was so used to travelling through a city like this she did it without a second thought. True, it hardly was considered a normal means of transportation, but she didn't care.

The rooftops allowed her to run a straight beeline toward Sage. She hadn't thought this through at all. Delilah literally just jumped up and left the hideout. She didn't prepare anything. She was still wearing her skin tight bodysuit, not having bothered with changing into something more... adequate.

Rooftops not only provided a tactical advantage and the possibility of moving unnoticed, they also provided an inexplicable feeling of safety for Reyna; which was most likely because she always had the rooftops for herself.

Down on the crowded streets of Sleepy Hollow she was exposed to the prying eyes and impertinent stares of all those around her. Delilah understood; they all had never seen someone with purple eyes, purple and black hair, and shimmering tattoes. She was something exotic; something foreign. Most of the gawkers thought she was even some kind of freak. Rationally, Delilah understood that. But it still bothered her. It wasn't like she cared what others thought about her, quite the contrary, she literally could not care less about it.

It was more the staring itself, and the attention which came along with it, which unnerved her so much. Attention meant someone saw her. Someone seeing her meant a witness, and witnesses were always a bad idea in her line of work. If Delilah wouldn't be required to be an unseen shadow in the night, she would have walked down any street without any hesitation. She didn't give a fuck who thought what about her and what opinions other people had. Right now there was only one person whose opinion wasn't irrelevant.

Sage would be the only one looking at her today, and no matter how annoyed Delilah usually was when people stared at her, the thought of Sage doing just that made excitement boil up in her heart. Not that Reyna understood the appealing aspects of her own body. She never got why people always looked at her with lecherous eyes. Her body was a weapon, honed to complete one task perfectly.

And that task was plain and brutal killing, simple as that. Delilah's body wasn't meant to look good, it wasn't built to draw attention and it sure as wasn't designed to seduce. But when she thought back to the way Sage looked at her, the glistering in her eyes as if she had found the most beautiful treasure in the world, Reyna couldn't help and think that maybe there was something worthy of the word beauty to her body. At least Sage seemed to think so. And as long as she did, everyone else could go to hell, well, double hell.

She would only allow Sage to look at her like that; like she was  _ normal _ , worthy of being desired. To everyone else, she was a weapon, and she would not hesitate to remind them of this fact. 

The gaps between the different apartment blocks were easily overcome with the help of Delilah's teleports as she raced towards her destination. It wasn't far anymore; just a couple of blocks and some streets, no big deal. Delilah remembered perfectly where she needed to go to find Mirai's place. Her memory was impeccable, even if she had only been there once before. It didn't matter.

A few minutes later, Reyna rappelled down the house opposite of Sage's apartment. Crossing the street with fast steps she was standing in front of a heavy wooden door. The old gate painted in a dark shade of green, a golden panel on the wall next to it, containing multiple different doorbells with name tags right next to it.

Reyna hesitated as she noticed something crucial. She had forgotten Sage's real name. All she had was that stupid call sign of hers, written on those impossibly tight jeans. Up until now, it had been enough for Delilah. That did change rather quickly when Reyna wanted to ring a doorbell.

But which one?

Where exactly was she supposed to ring? Only one of those countless doorbells incorporated in their golden housing would lead Delilah to the person she wanted to see right now.

The hellion wasted a quick thought. Why hadn't she asked Sage for her real name again? There wasn't really a moment in which it seemed appropriate to do so. Reyna wrote it down on her mental list of things she had to do.

Still, the problem was the same. She didn't know where to ring. And Delilah  _ really  _ didn't want to try out her luck, starting somewhere and working her way through. It would have worked, sure, but it still seemed like an extra stupid thing to do. Talk about witnesses. Catching herself thinking about this like it was an assassination, Delilah squeezed her eyes shut and inhaled deeply. This was no mission; it wouldn't matter if people knew she was here. Or would it? Was there a better way?

Sighing, she stepped away from the door. Well, there really was only one option left for her if she didn't want to ring at every door. Reaching for her wrist Reyna aimed her clenched hand for the little balcony in front of Sage's room before she fired several dark blue tendrils toward the stone railing. Testing the strength of the connection and being content with it, Reyna lifted herself into the air, upwards toward Sage's balcony. It fitted her style as a stealthy assassin better anyway.

Gracefully pulling her flexible body over the railing, Delilah silently arrived on the outside of the place Sage lived in most of the time. With undeniable excitement, Reyna peered through the large glass double door into what had to be Sage's living-room. There was a comfortable couch with the back toward the window and a television in front of it. To its right there was a door leading to a different room and a bookshelf filled to the brim with various different editions of just as many oeuvres covering the entire wall next to the door. Opposite to the shelf was a wooden desk with a standard console-interface on top of it and a leather office chair a little displaced in front of it. Both the desk as well as the bookshelf weren't exactly neatly cleaned up. The desk had paperwork and different files scattered all over it, while the bookshelf was basically overflowing with books and magazines.

Delilah of course wasn't the least bit interested in the furniture, her eyes were fixed to the person sitting on Sage's couch. That ebony-black, long hair, which could only belong to one person. Even seeing her from the back made Reyna shiver in excitement. She swallowed heavily, extending her hand to knock on the glass door so she could catch Sage's attention. But in the very same moment when her knuckles were about to touch the glass, the door inside the room opened unexpectedly. She quickly jerked her hand back, tensely staring inside. With eyes open wide and her slow heart beating almost painfully hard in her chest, Delilah could only wait and watch.

Sage wasn't alone?

The tension building up inside Delilah's fragile soul was starting to slowly tear it apart as she had to witness a drop-dead gorgeous ginger with eyes as green as forest algae and legs longer than the golden gate bridge walk into Sage's living room. The stranger was wearing an old shirt. The aged fabric seemed to be a little too small for her ample breasts as it hugged her slightly tanned skin tightly and didn't cover her well-built stomach completely. A blind man could have seen that this wasn't the ginger's shirt, but very much Sage's.

A moment of silent confusion passed before realization dawned on Reyna.

Delilah felt like someone stabbed her through her heart from the back with a cold iron dagger dipped in holy water and salt as she witnessed how that unknown ginger walked over to the couch, carrying two glasses of wine, and sat down next to Sage, handing one glass over. That alone wasn't the worst part; what really made Reyna feel like someone violently grabbed what was left of her soul and ripped into shreds was how Sage didn't hesitate to slide closer to the other woman. She shamelessly rested her head on the ginger's shoulder like she had done it a thousand times, cuddling closer to the other woman while the ginger ruffled through Sage's hair with an affectionate smile on her lips.

That was...

_ They are... I'm... I... Why? _

Delilah was left speechless, staring blankly through the window, unable to understand what was going on.

The first and only person Delilah grew not only to desire beyond imagination, but also to trust more than anyone else since the Fall was now cuddling with another girl, destroying so much hope inside Reyna's heart.

Delilah's eyes burnt from looking. She felt so  _ used.  _ So  _ worthless  _ all of a sudden. How could Sage!? She trusted her! She had honestly thought that maybe, just maybe the bubbly angel could be worth the trouble; that she could really be the one who would eventually help her. Really help her, not just pretend to do so.

Sage had been the only person Delilah considered opening up to. Someone she really wanted to be closer to. Someone who resurrected her desire for a  _ normal  _ life; for a life outside Heaven and Hell.

And now Delilah felt exactly like that foolish little girl she promised to never be again. Betrayed, used, and walked all over one more time. It hurt so bad she had a hard time breathing as an invisible cord strangled her throat without any mercy. Looking through that window was more painful than anything Hell ever did to her. Her hopes and dreams were violently crushed, the fragile young little red rose which was her desire for freedom and happiness, trampled to death by a huge boot. She felt like worthless dirt.

Reyna's lips trembled as she bit down on her tongue as hard as possible just to stop herself from crying out loud. If she had brought along her guns, she would have shot someone. Most likely herself.

She was such an idiot.

How could she assume anything else would happen? Why did she get her hopes up? It was stupid.

Sage was an attractive woman, outgoing, smart, and  _ very  _ desirable. How could Delilah think she'd wait for someone like  _ her?  _ A broken toy, an emotionless weapon, someone who would need  _ lots  _ of repairing before she could function rudimentarily normal. Who was willing to choose someone like her, when they had options like... like the ginger currently enjoying Sage's attention?

_ That... that traitorous dyke! _

Reyna wanted to hiss internally, but no matter how much she wanted to curse Sage in that moment, she found herself unable to do so.

She really couldn't. The more Delilah thought about it, the more everything made sense. Why would Sage legitimately want to be with someone like  _ her _ ? On a whim, understandably, maybe in the heat of the moment. But rationally? Actually being with someone as in serious relationship?

Hell, she wouldn't want to be with herself if she'd have the choice. So, there really was no point in expecting this from someone else. Delilah knew she meant nothing but trouble; especially to date her.

Besides, it had been her who left Sage in that belfry all on her own, telling her it was better this way. Delilah realized how stupid she had been as she turned around on the balcony.

She needed to get out of here.

Apparently her way of life truly had been better in the past. The loneliness really was her friend. There was no point in wanting someone to walk that path down together with her. It would only mean pain and misery for them. Reyna wasn't  _ made  _ to live a normal life like Delilah could have. Reyna's fate was sealed to the shadows; it always had been, and it always would be. She just had forgotten about it.

Reyna didn't hate Sage for what she saw. It was a valuable lesson.

But the pain the angel left in the fallen angel's chest was too much for her to bear. Maybe it was her own fault? Maybe she shouldn't have left Sage alone in that belfry the other day? Maybe she should have made her interest in the angel clear from the beginning? Maybe she...

Delilah stopped herself. This didn't lead anywhere. She didn't do any of those things. And now she had obviously lost the one thing she remembered ever desiring.

Sage.

Looking back over her shoulder one more time, Reyna convinced herself that the angle she cared for so much seemed happy.

She did.

The closeness she seemed to share with the ginger would be something Sage and Reyna would have never achieved. That ginger girl, whoever she was, would take good care of Sage.

Delilah hoped she would.

It was only a poor consolation for the all numbing pain in her chest and for the feeling of betrayal and loneliness spreading through her soul like an ice-cold wind once again. She felt dead inside; more than ever before.

Reyna reached for the edge of the balcony before dropped down towards the street, her limbs heavy and her mind occupied by sad thoughts. She knew that she lacked the concentration to jump rooftops right now.

So, she chose the streets, not bothering with the other pedestrians. They all were irrelevant. As fast as her dull world turned into the brightest colors with Sage suddenly appearing, it turned back to black and white with her leaving again. Nothing really seemed to be of importance. Nothing was meaningful enough to care about.

Disconnected from reality, Delilah's numb and heavy legs carried her through the crowded streets of Sleepy Hollow, almost on their own, while her mind was spinning around the events she had witnessed.

Sage on her couch.

The ginger beauty coming in, wearing Sage's shirt.

Sage cuddling closer to her.

Delilah squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, to force those images out of her head.

One thing was sure. There was no way she would want to walk around with memories about this day for even a minute longer than strictly necessary. What was the point in that? She had seen it, and no matter how painful, it was over before it even started.

It tore her apart piece by piece. All the excitement, the affection, desire of the last two weeks, and especially the fond memories of the day before turned into pain and suffering, a sweet fruit suddenly turning sour. Delilah didn't want to remember any of this anymore. It hurt so bad she could barely breath. How was she supposed to do her job properly now? How? She wanted to forget so badly. She wanted to undo all those feelings of hope which foolishly started to grow in her heart and had turned into sharp thorns tormenting it now.

Reyna had no experience with these kind of feelings; at least none she remembered. The only person capable of balancing her soul was also the one who threw it into turmoil. And now she was gone. It would have been better if Sage never stepped into her life again, it would have been better if she never allowed herself to indulge in herself in that fugacious feeling of happiness Sage brought her.

There really was no point remembering the bubbly angel who came so close to Reyna's heart any longer. It would only hurt Delilah further.

It was the first time that the assassin was glad she had options to forget.

Sage would most likely have forgotten about Reyna soon enough, but the assassin was sure that she would never be able to truly forget the enchanting girl. Not on her own, at least. She reached for the communicator hidden inside her mind, pressing a speed-dial button.

It didn't take long for someone on the other end of the line to pick up.

"Job is done. Target dead. Requesting pickup"

Delilah said, steadying her voice to the best of her ability.

"There were some complications. I need an appointment with the Viper. I need medical attention from her"

"Understood. portal reactivation in two hours. Your appointment will be arranged"

The just as emotionless as bodiless voice said before the line was dead again.

Reyna sighed heavily, noticing just now how many people were looking at her as she walked past them. A part of her regretted that she didn't bother changing into something more presentable than her skin tight bodysuit before she left the safe house which was probably the reason people dared to stare blankly at the shimmering purple woman with flickering golden eyes walking down the street with such unparalleled grace, carrying her body like only a ballet-dancer should be able to.

The assassin ignored the people looking at her, like she was some kind of circus attraction. There were more important matters on her mind right now for this to bother her. If they wanted to look, so be it. The opinion of all those people meant nothing to Reyna. She didn't care what they thought, she didn't care what they whispered in each other's ears, she didn't care that they covered the eyes of their children with their hands.

There was only one thing in Delilah's mind right now, and that was getting away from Sage's apartment. Nothing else mattered. And then, hopefully, she would be allowed to forget about the only person whose opinion had mattered to Reyna. Who she  _ wanted  _ stare at her with that lively spark in her dark eyes, filled with desire.

It wasn't meant to be.

Thinking about what she'd do for the next two hours until someone from Hell would pick her up, Delilah stopped at a red light and waited for it to turn again, just like everybody else at the street corner.

At first she didn't notice the middle-aged man in a dark business suit standing next to her and perving on her like she was a piece of willing young flesh. Reyna ignored it for a moment. Then for another one and one more, hoping the pedestrian lights would turn green soon. But they didn't, and so Delilah just boiled over.

"Can I help you?"

She hissed with venom dripping from her voice as she shot the man a deadly glance. It should have been a good hint to get lost, but the world was full of idiots.

"How much?"

He asked with a disgusting smile, shooting her with a finger-pistol.

"For the night?"

Reyna inhaled sharply, deeply regretting not having brought her guns right about now.

Soon enough, she spat in her native language, giving him the ultimate glare of death. Even if this random idiot didn't speak Enochian, which he most likely didn't, Delilah's words were understood never the less.

God, she had that incredible desire to  _ kill  _ somebody, and that moron would have done nicely if not for all those annoying little witnesses around her. Lucky him.

"Well, that is a rather  _ Rude  _ thing to say to a customer"

The creep laughed, his eyes running all over Delilah's body.

She hissed air through her teeth and glanced around her surroundings. There weren't a lot of people on the street-corner. An elderly gentleman, way past his nineties with coat and bowler hat and a mother with two children, a boy and a girl, both not older than maybe ten. All three looked at Reyna and the guy talking to her. The pensioner seemed like he was about to say something while the mother was trying to divert her children's attention from what was going on.

The business-man didn't notice either one of those things, his lecherous eyes were glued to Reyna.

"C'mon don't be like that,  _ love. _ I pay good money"

He said, reaching out for Delilah's face.

_ Love. Lov... Luv. Sage. _

How  _ dared  _ he say the words she used?!

How dared  _ she  _ to say these words and not mean them.

Reyna's iris narrowed tightly, as she slapped the man's hand out of the air before it could even come close to her face. Still agitated more than enough from what Delilah had seen at Sage's apartment, this fool trying to get in her pants managed to choose the completely wrong wording.

For a moment Reyna pondered her options. She could really use something to make her feel better right now. So why not?

"Ts, ts, ts"

Reyna shook her head with a dangerous smile on her lips.

"No money, no touching, Papi chulo"

She purred with an expertly faked sultry voice.

The expression of slight confusion changing to an anticipating, wide smile on his lips was enough for Reyna to know that she had him on the hook. From there on it would be a piece of cake.

"Follow me"

Reyna murmured, using her index-finger in a sultry way to beckon the businessman to come with her, while she walked a few steps into the direction she came from. The unsuspecting fly followed the spider willingly into her deadly web, not knowing what Delilah would really do to him.

Definitely not what he was expecting her to do.

A few short minutes later the assassin had lured her prey to the location she had in mind for this. It was a sparsely lit, narrow alley in between two old buildings. The asphalt was totally askew and made up of dozens badly fixed holes in the ground, some of them collecting a badly smelling mixture of different fluids, the origin of which was better left unknown. There was a large metal dumpster right at the entry into the otherwise sordid street, making the entire length of the alley barely visible.

Reyna didn't hesitate and reached for the business man's dark blue tie, seductively wrapping it around her hand while leading him into the alley and behind the dumpster. With one of her delicate fingers pressed to his chest in a teasing way she pushed him a few steps back into the wall, her hips swinging temptingly. Her clueless prey didn't suspect a thing as his back made contact with the slightly moist wall and Delilah's quick hands slid up his chest and down his arms just for her to grab him at his wrists and raise his arms upwards over his head, pinning them to the wall.

"Now. What do you want me to do to you?"

Reyna hummed with a heavy Mexican accent, her eyes glowing in the dim light of the alley and her body pressed onto the business man. Playing with her prey was always what Delilah enjoyed the most. And this fool had no idea what was really going on.

What a moron.

"Here?"

He asked under his breath, quickly looking around the rather disgusting alley. It was hardly a place he really wanted to get naked at. And neither did Delilah. But the difference was, where the horny guy was so focused on getting it on with that fascinating, beautiful bronzed woman that he was more than willing to overlook the dirty location, said woman didn't have getting naked in mind for today anyway. Her idea of fun didn't involve undressing; at least not for today.

"Si"

Reyna replied teasingly pressing herself closer to him, already feeling the growing bump in his pants.

"Why not?"

She asked, internally forcing herself to continue her act for just a little bit longer. She really wanted to get to it already, but knew that the game would only become more fun the longer it was allowed to run.

"It's a little... dirty, don't you think?"

He replied, causing Reyna to giggle softly. His attention was back to her person immediately.

"Oh this is perfect. Trust me"

She reassured him.

Smiling like a kid at Christmas, the man nodded enthusiastically. If he had known what Delilah had truly planned to make him pay for what he said, he would not have been so very excited. But the prey was already very excited. And so was Reyna, yet for completely different reasons.

"What do I owe you afterwards, love?"

He asked with a priggish smile.

There it was again.

_ Love. _

He pronounced it differently, but that didn't matter to Reyna. She would not allow him to speak that word to her. Delilah swallowed her rising impatience down. Only a few more moments until she could spring the trap.

"Mhh"

Delilah hummed leaning forward, carefully brushing her cheek over his in a way that she barely touched his skin. Her mouth was mere millimeters away from his ears before she purred

"Your life"

In a whisper, waiting a short moment to let her words sink in, in which she leaned back a little bit. Still holding on to his arms and having them pinned over his head Delilah suppressed a giggle as she saw the confused look on his face.

"W-Wha..."

He started, but was violently interrupted by Reyna suddenly bringing her hand up in a swift motion and letting her finger touch the man's chest. Instantly colourless forces dragged the man back towards a concrete wall where his arms and legs were pinned by it. Putting one foot in front of the other whilst swaying her hips she stopped right in front of the panicking man before moving her fingers right across his mouth and to his surprise, as soon as Reyna removed her hands from his mouth, his lips were completely gone rendering him mute. Strangely the man thought he could see a near-featherless shadow of wings behind her as she sauntered towards him.

"There is only  _ one  _ person in this entire world, who is allowed to call me  _ Love" _

She hissed, her eyes glowing with murderous intent and an evil one-sided smirk creeping over Delilah's lips.

The flapping of wings right behind her stopped her approach to the man as she turned around to see who the uninvited guest was but soon saw a familiar face clapping right on the entrance of the alley. 

Fallen Guardian Angel Sabine but better known in Hell as Viper arrived just in time to witness Reyna in her true element, torturing helpless souls for her own amusement. It was always so fun to watch, to watch them squirm, to watch them scream and of course watch them die with a look of fear smeared on their face.

Viper was a woman possessing a slender yet curvy bewitching figure, possessing ample breasts and a round, plump butt. She has straight black neck-long hair with the right side of her hair going completely down whilst the other side had had hair tucked over her ear and she possessed spotless pale skin. Her face was void of any makeup except near her piercing poison green eyes which had pitch-black eyeliner and faint eyeshadow on it and on top of her eyes were thin black eyebrows that made her look serious all the time. The presence of wings behind her back sent shivers down the man's spine but curiously they were far from perfect. Her left wing possessed flawless charcoal-coloured feather whilst her right wing was completely stripped down to the bone, no feather or flesh remained.

"Playing with your food again? You hungry little bitch. Come on, finish the job so we can go home"

"No. Let me savour this moment"

"Then hurry the fuck up"

Growling all of a sudden Reyna turned her attention towards Viper who immediately dropped her rough attitude as a fearful expression washed across her face and soon enough the man caught a glimpse of the cause of the fear. Turning her head back to the man he could see as clear as day that her two eyes were replaced with flaky, charred eye sockets that constantly leaked darkened smoke. The sight nearly caused the man's heart to stop but soon enough Reyna's now gravelly and animalistic growl soon did the job.

" _Hmmmm. Finally, a decent meal_ "

**\---**

A little earlier in Mirai's apartment, she was sitting on her couch, alone and waiting. There was an embarrassed blush on her cheeks when the door opened and Skye came into her living-room wearing one of Sage's shirts and carrying two glasses of wine.

"Sorry..."

Mirai squeaked with an apologetic smile as Skye shook her head sitting down next to her friend. She handed her one glass of wine before both were placed on the little table in front of them.

"Don't worry, just don't spill wine all over me again, man"

Skye replied with a giggle while Sage scooted closer to her, the angel's unruly hair once again tickling her neck when she rested her head on Skye's shoulder.

"You do look very cute in my stuff though, mate"

Mirai said cheekily.

Skye sighed, ruffling through Sage's hair while looking in those large raven puppy eyes. Why did she know exactly what was going on inside her friend's head?

"If you dare to word your thoughts, I will never cook dinner for you again"

Skye threatened jestingly.

"Oy, you don't know what I thought!"

Mirai complained.

"You thought your shirt on me would mark your territory, didn't you?"

Skye said like she knew it already. And she did. It wasn't the first time she borrowed a shirt or something from Sage. And it wouldn't have been the first time Mirai commented on it either.

The light rose color on Mirai's cheeks got a shade darker.

"Maybe I thought that. Maybe I didn't? Who will ever know?"

She said with a smirk. Of course Mirai thought that. Her stuff on other girls always got her excited. It made her feel like hoisting a flag on something she conquered. Mirai, of course, knew that Skye wearing one of her old shirts didn't mean anything even close to those lines.

Skye was her one of her best friends after all.

But Sage couldn't help and think about how one of her shirts would look on the tanned skin of Delilah, marking the gorgeous hellion as Mirai's territory.

The thought alone got Sage all flustered.

"You are thinking about her right now, aren't you?"

Skye asked suddenly, still looking at Sage whose eyes lost focus and stared blankly right through Skye and at the wall behind her.

Mirai blinked, shifting her attention back to reality.

"Bruh, can you read thought? Honestly, you start to scare me."

Skye giggled cutely.

"You are an open book to me, man. You always were. Don't worry about your girl, ok? I am sure everything will work out in the end. You just need to be patient."

**\---**

Reyna stepped out of the alley, looking relieved.

She was alone once more.

And while she walked away, Delilah noticed a short, one-sided smirk flashing over her face, before it vanished again.

Today had been the worst day of her life... at least of the life she still remembered. But soon enough it would be forgotten, gone with the wind and vanished into nothingness.

All thanks to Sabine's magical trickery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Music I listened to on this chapter:  
> Dermot Kennedy - Power Over Me  
> Zeru - Kimi Ni Todoke  
> 5 Seconds of Summer - Want You Back  
> Noah Cyrus, Gallant - Mad at You  
> Billie Eilish - bad guy


	4. Never Fade Away

**River Lethe, Sixth Circle of Hell, Unknown time**

Delilah floated in a whirlwind of dark grey clouds, a violent wind pulling on her skin and hair, while she had the feeling of falling downwards into a bottomless pit. Pictures and voices seemed to be hiding in the clouds, but all Reyna could do was catch a glimpse of them while she was rapidly falling past. There was the calming voice of a beautiful woman calling out her name, her real name, not just her call sign. Delilah remembered the name of the woman calling out for her. A moment later, she fell past an image of them kissing, but the girl suddenly was a stranger to Reyna. She couldn't recall ever meeting her as the memory of their affectionate kiss whirled up in the clouds and Delilah fell past it. Her bones ached and her head was tortured by a throbbing pain in her temples, while she was falling faster and deeper into the endless hole. Whole events were forgotten as soon as she fell past them. It didn't take long before Delilah had forgotten that Sage ever existed. She forgot about the reason she wanted her memory to be reset and she also forgot about the burning desire she felt for the angel.

It was like they had never met in the first place.

Once the pit got so dark Reyna couldn't see anything around her anymore, she knew her journey came to an end. The feeling of smacking hard against the ground woke her up rather violently.

Delilah opened her eyes gain, sucking in a deep breath of air. It felt like waking up from one of those horrible nightmares where she was falling into nothing only to wake up in the exact same moment of her impact on the ground, bathed in sweat and breathing heavily.

But it was no nightmare this time. It was a routine procedure for Delilah. The pain in her head was still there, and her body felt weird, but her soul was balanced. For a swift moment she felt like remembering something in the furthest corner of her mind, but that flash of  _ black hair  _ was gone as fast as it appeared, a faint giggle being carried away with the wind.

The strange thing was that Reyna felt  _ relieved  _ of something which had been bothering her. She didn't remember what it was, but she knew it was gone now. Breathing was easier and she felt strangely whole. She was empty inside, but not broken anymore. Delilah didn't know why she got the feeling of not being broken anymore because she didn't remember being broken in the first place. But far be it for her to think about those things any further.

She looked at Viper at her right, who was retrieving a needle from her left arm, while another undid the leather manacles holding her head and naked body tightly in place. As horrible as it may have been, Delilah was so used to this by now she didn't even waste a second thought about the procedure anymore.

"Thank you, Sabine"

Delilah said coolly, gracefully swinging off the medical examination chair, giving the doctor a cold glare. The feeling of being a blank paper once again was strange; especially since Delilah couldn't get rid of that nagging feeling that her blank paper had more than one black spot on it. Something didn't feel the way it should have felt.

It would fade away soon, she was sure of it.

Turning to go and get dressed again, Delilah's eyes fell upon her naked body, reflected in a wall-sized mirror inside the laboratory. She paused a moment to look at herself, and noticed an unfamiliar pale scar just above her hip. She let a finger run over the scarred tissue, but the little line was there without any doubt. She couldn't really remember how she got it. But when her fingers touched the spot on her abdomen, Reyna suddenly got a warm feeling, like someone had carried her to safety.  _ Strange... _

"Where did you get that scar from, Delilah?"

The magician asked, appearing next to her. To her credit, she didn't stare at her stark naked form. Viper's voice tore Delilah out of her musing.

"You should have asked me that before the wipe, Cabrón! How would I know?"

She hissed, quickly slipping inside her daily costume. On his arms are elegantly designed floral sleeves leading down to a pair of wristbands. A bit of her arms were covered with thin satin wires that resembled complex mesh-wiring bearing floral designs. She wore ripped lavender-coloured jean shorts that were slightly slipping down her thighs showing her complex mesh-wiring patterned panties finished off with sockless loafers and a petite and lacey black bra that could barely contain her voluminous breasts.

Without another word, Delilah dropped a few Drachmas into Viper's palm and was gone a second later, vanished in the dark medieval corridors of Hell.

She didn't get far.

"What did you do with Viper?"

A deep growling voice stated more than it asked.

Delilah sighed, turning to her right only to see omen casually leaning toward the metal wall, his arms crossed over his chest. Obviously reading his facial expression was impossible due to his hood, but his voice did sound a tiny bit annoyed. Omen was a gaunt figure, adorned in black robes and armor. Misty energy lingered behind his back and soon revealed itself to be mistlike substances forming what seemed to be a skeletal wing right behind his back.

"What do you care, La Muerte?"

"You owe me a favor. And now you forgot about it"

He replied.

"Oh is that right?"

Delilah shrugged. She really couldn't care less.

"And why would I believe that?"

She asked, her voice feigning a flirty tone.

Omen chuckled a deep and pervasive laugh

"Why do you think you needed to be wiped now?"

He asked before he pushed himself off the wall, stepping closer to Reyna.

"I prevented the brass from discovering your little memory about an angel, little wings. And that's why you owe me."

"Don't feed me that bullshit, La Muerte. Search another fool for your games. What do you want?"

Delilah asked, ignoring the feeling that something was not right. There was that flash of that black hair again, which almost warmed her heart for a moment.

"Repellent today, aren't we? Still high on the magic, Reyna?"

Omen scoffed leaning forward far too much and invading Reyna's personal space. She raised an eyebrow, tilting her head out of the way so she wouldn't touch his hood with her cheek. Delilah could have stepped away, but she didn't want to give in. Why was Omen telling her all this?

"I would greatly appreciate you not wasting my time further and telling me what you want. Can you do that?"

She asked with a slightly cocky grin.

Omen growled and it almost sounded like he was frustrated. Delilah didn't know it, but he, in fact, was  _ very  _ frustrated. With her mind wiped again he would have to start planning from the beginning. He needed to remind her.

"So, you won't pay me back. I see"

He growled.

"Helping you was a mistake it seems"

He added, pressing a finger to her chest.

A picture shot into Delilah's head out of nowhere. It showed her, also on the very same corridor with Omen. He had been pressing one of his armoured fingers to her chest, just like he did now, telling her he would have her personality destroyed if she dared to backstab him. The image was gone in a flash, but it did leave a strange taste in Reyna's mouth.

"Si, si. I don't care. Did you just come here to whine about that stupid favour? Because I have better things to do"

She stated, visibly unimpressed, wiping Omen's finger off her with the back of her hand.

Growling, the black-clad man seemed to give up on the topic. There was really no point in pushing this further. His only option was to wait and see if he could somehow manage to get Reyna into a situation where she'd owe him again.

But for now, there was really only one thing left to do. And that was the reason why he was sent here in the first place.

"Here"

Omen replied. A dossier appeared out of a cloud of black smoke and dropped into his hand before he passed it to Delilah.

She flipped the cover open and looked into the file inside.

"My next target? I'm not staying here?"

She asked.

"Yes"

Omen nodded.

Delilah raised an eyebrow once again.

"Also the favour you have been so keen on?"

She wanted to know, with a smug grin on her lips. It was strange; she didn't remember Omen being so keen on her owing him a favour. But then again, Delilah had just freshly come out of the memory-reconditioning machine, so all she remembered was what Hell  _ wanted  _ her to remember. Her training and acquired skills were the most important thing for obvious reasons, but there were also the basics of the important Hell's personnel. It didn't make a lot of sense to have her forget the people she was working with after all.

So maybe she just didn't remember this side of Omen.

Maybe she really owed him? Delilah didn't care.

"Hardly, little bird"

Omen replied with an eerie laugh

"Official orders"

He added, before vanishing in a dark black pillar of smoke.

Delilah turned her attention back into the file, looking at the picture of a fat man, apparently taken at some kind of press event. Devaraja Ramachandran was his name, an Indian type of person and the current escapee from Purgatory. In two weeks he would publically speak at an opening ceremony for a local park revealing the nature of magic, so the point where Delilah would strike was already scouted out for her. Good.

She closed the file again, heading toward the portal room.

And yet once more, there was that flash of a white and purple dress, blinking past her down the corridor. Or at least Delilah imagined it. Again, she thought she heard someone giggle cutely, but when she turned around, obviously no one was there. What the hell was going on? The voice did feel familiar, and Delilah felt like she  _ should  _ remember who it belonged to.

But she didn't. And then the feeling of someone being at her side was gone as Delilah was off to do what she did best.

Killing people.

Her legs carried her through the complex maze of different paths and hallways inside the endless hallway, not thinking once Delilah found her way outside onto the top side of the circle she was on.

The weather was beautiful, the black sun rising above the fiery sea on a rusty sky. A soft breeze was playing gently with Reyna's hair while she walked toward the black, singular arched doorway in front of her.

Two black-clad men were walking around the portal, apparently preparing the portal for activation.

They most likely heard the clicking of Delilah's shoes on the metal floor as they turned around.

"Ma'am!"

They both snapped to attention.

"We will be your pilots for today. My name is-"

Delilah rose a hand to stop the pilot from talking further.

"Cállate! I don't care. Just get me to the destination. And if you want to stay alive, I suggest you don't talk to me"

She said, not even bothering to look at the initiators while she walked past them and stopped right underneath the arched doorway as the two men fidgeted around with the runes carved into the doorway.

The mages exchanged a look.

"Damn"

One said.

"Yeah, she is the real deal, mate. I am telling you, don't mess with her. Did you know she broke a guy's balls, because he called her pretty?"

"Seriously?!"

The first magician looked surprised. He was a rather new member of Hell, a former U.S. Navy fighter pilot who got mangled in chopper blades after his commanding officer pushed him into it And now he was a pilot in the service of Hell, playing taxi for the deadliest torturer in the world. Not what he expected his life would turn out to be.

"Yeah... Just leave her alone. Better for your health"

"Noted"

"What are you two chit-chatting about?"

A dangerously deep voice asked from behind the two pilots, sending a cold shiver down their spines while their bodies almost froze solid. Slowly they turned around to see Omen standing directly behind them, holding a simple black metal suitcase.

"Sorry, Sir! We-"

"Spare me the excuses"

Omen interrupted.

"Is the bird prepping?"

"She is, Sir!"

One of the two almost identical-looking Pilots replied, causing Omen to nod. He handed the other one the heavy black suitcase.

"After you finish the prep, you will deliver this suitcase to these coordinates,"

He said, handing the first pilot an envelope.

"Do not open these orders until after you shot off Delilah"

"Sir, yes, Sir! Understood."

"Good"

**\---**

**Heaven, Unknown Time**

Mirai was walking up and down the length of the shuttle at a fast pace. Those last ten minutes before the landing were always the worst. In that time she would get nervous, insecure, and generally uncomfortable. But only in those last few minutes before a mission. It was a stupid habit, and one she couldn't get rid of. No matter how good Sage felt she prepared, or how relaxed she was during the hour-long flight, nervousness always got the better of her in the end.

She pressed her finger to her ear, currently talking to her friend. Skye had been invited to an international spell-making conference in the tippity top of Heaven, her hometown. Originally she didn't think she could go, because of her responsibilities in the military, but then Cypher said that they might need a lot of medical supplies soon. He asked Skye to make some new friends there... which the doctor was more than happy to do, not only because it was her hometown, but also because it had been years since she had been to such a conference.

"How is it going, Skye? Everything alright?"

Sage asked.

"Absolutely"

Skye replied, the excitement clearly audible in her voice.

"It's really amazing here! So many smart people. I haven't talked so much in years! It's wonderful! I met another spell maker like me"

She started gushing in Enochian, but was harshly interrupted by Sage. She didn't mean to be mean or something, but if Mirai wouldn't have stopped her friend right there, she would have continued forever.,

"Luv, I don't speak that version of Enochian. What are you talking about?"

Mirai smiled softly, happy that her friend was enjoying herself. It was something the ginger doctor did way too seldom. Even though Sage didn't fully understand how one could enjoy a medical conference so much, she was content that Skye apparently did.

"Sorry, man. It's just so exciting!"

"I noticed"

Sage replied dryly.

"I said, that spell maker invented a device, which allows partial subdermal tissue reconstruction, to heal wound caused by celestial weapons"

"Skye, please pretend you talk to some military grunt soldier. In fact, don't pretend..."

"I'm so sorry!"

Skye apologized and Mirai could actually hear how her friend turned red.

"He invented something to heal injuries and even revitalize dead angel cells without expending too much of our energy"

She explained.

"So kind of like your resurrection spell?"

"It is similar, though this one doesn't require the a soul. It is slower and less efficient, but also way more ethical"

"I see"

Sage replied in a good mood, when someone tapped on her back. She peeked over her shoulder to see Cypher standing behind her, gesturing toward his wrist, as if wearing a watch.

"Sorry, mate. Gotta go save the world once again."

Sage jested.

"Of course. Be careful out there."

"Where would the fun be in that?"

Mirai replied with a dry laugh before she ended the connection.

"ETA in two minutes, Kimur. Here are the last updates from the brass"

Cypher said, handing Mirai a file with some last-minute information Aamir managed to gather.

"So, rooftops, huh?"

Mirai asked, letting a hand run through her luscious black hair.

"Another demon then,"

She mused absent-minded.

"Do you think they'll send Deli...errrr"

Sage quickly faked an embarrassed cough. Damn, she almost fucked that up. She really needed to watch her tongue.

"...Reyna, like the last time?"

Cypher rose a suspicious eyebrow, but wasn't quite sure what this had been about. It did seem fake, but maybe Kimur really just choked. It wasn't that important.

"Well, it would make sense. The brass calculated the major is a high priority target, so I don't see why Hell wouldn't send their best."

He said, when the shuttle made rough contact with the ground of an abandoned parking-lot a few kilometers away from the place Devaraja Ramachandran would soon speak to the public.

"I need to drop the cloak in order to open the door, so be quick"

The voice of the pilot announced over the speaker.

"Good luck, Kimur"

Aamir said, pressing a button next to the hatch causing it to slowly glide to the ground.

"There is no need for luck, Aamir. I have me"

She replied with a cheeky wink before Mirai flew away, leaving a sighing Cypher behind. That girl would sooner or later get herself killed.

The door wasn't yet fully closed, but the shuttle already in the air, when Cypher's mental phone rang loudly. Rolling his eyes he tapped his temple, accepting the call.

"Yes?"

He asked, knowing exactly who he was talking to.

"You have to do something"

The deep voice, which could only belong to Brimstone on the other end of the line, replied. He didn't waste any time and cut straight to the chase just as always.

"Alright, what do you need?"

"The big boss has placed a hit on Devaraja Ramachandran. I only now learned it is one of the most important targets for Hell right now and part of his great master plan. They have The Vampire is on site, but she had some  _ trouble  _ keeping her flawless record as of recently. You know why. See to it that the hit happens. The major has to die"

Brimstone growled.

"Are you fucking kidding me?"

Cypher replied in a whispered hiss.

"I dropped Sage off literally a minute ago to prevent this. You haven't forgotten why I keep sending her to these missions, have you?"

"No, I dropped her off in Paris, where do you  _ think  _ I am?"

There was a deep growl on the other end of the line. Cypher was hardly the only one whose nerves were raw.

"What exactly is your illusion of how my work here looks like? It's not like I hang on to my brain all day. This is the first opportunity to call I got."

"Alright, alright. I get it. Still, I am not equipped for what you have in mind. There was my own little mission going on before you sprung that new job on me."

"Not anymore. I arranged a care-packet to be dropped off at a safe location. I'll send you the coordinates. Ramachandran has to die today or all will be lost."

Brimstone said, his voice urging.

"I understand"

Cypher replied.

"Consider it done."

He added, before terminating the communication.

"Pilot! New orders: turn that bird around and head for the following coordinates!"

"Yes, Sir!"

**\---**

The red crosshair was perfectly in the middle of Devaraja Ramachandran's deep green eyes, while he was standing behind a noble lectern with the country's coat of arms on its front side. He was giving his speech from a richly decorated wooden stage in front of a museum, which had a large public square before it. Numerous different officials were sitting behind the majors. A surprisingly large crowd of people had gathered in the evening sun to hear their major talk. The Indian man was of stumpy stature, with a very short neck and large ears. His arms were disproportionally longer than the rest of his corpulent body, and he was sweating heavily. From time to time he reached into his pockets to retrieve a white silk napkin and dapple the heavy beads of sweat off his forehead. It helped his overall attractiveness little to nothing.

In the darkest corner with the best view, Reyna sat patiently like a spider waiting for its prey to step inside its webs. In her hands laid a normal-looking sniper with a barrel looking like it stretched on forever however what sets this weapon apart from the many was the shimmering space-black skin that enveloped its metal with it turning more of an ethereal whiteish blue as it travelled down the spiked and scaley barrel.

To put it in simple terms, the undead major was one ugly motherfucker. Delilah sighed, adjusting her grip of her custom made sniper rifle, concentrating on her target. Her time to strike hadn't come yet; the major was still moving too much. Despite being confident that she could easily connect the shot, Delilah didn't take any chances. She had time. Lots of it. And she was very patient. So in the meantime, the gorgeous assassin had little choice but to wait and listen to what the major had to say.

He might have been ugly beyond reasonable comparison, but he sure as hell could talk like no one else, Delilah had to admit this much. His speech was barely five minutes long and she actually noticed she was pretty interested in what the major had to say. He was by no means a stupid man. What he lacked in appeal, he made more than up with his wits.

Which was a rare trait, but still one which wouldn't help him one bit.

Delilah would squeeze that trigger no matter how interesting his speech was.

Soon he would be a dead man. An ugly dead man.

Patient, Reyna paused for the perfect moment to shoot, just when the major would be absorbed in his speech, so his movement would be minimal.

The time she had been waiting for had finally arrived. From the one second to the next, Delilah knew her moment to strike had come. Years of experience told the dangerous predator exactly when to pull the trigger.

Her delicate finger started to slowly squeeze the cold metal trigger backwards, her body preparing for the satisfying recoil of her rifle, her mental eye already seeing the bullet connecting with the target's head, forcing it to explode in a burst of red. Delilah anticipated that welcoming warm feeling of life returning to her soul when she had finished taking the major's life. When she had killed again. She looked forward to it with a subtle smile on her lips.

But suddenly there was a strange whooshing sound followed by the chime of crystals somewhere behind Delilah. It made her relax her trigger-finger, perking up her ears. And then there was a voice which should not have been there.

She should have been alone on the rooftop. There shouldn't have been anyone apart from Delilah. Yet a voice with heavy Chinese accent urged to her ears, picking a special chord inside the deadly assassin; one she thought was familiar for a moment before that notion was gone again.

"Has someone ever told you how hot your butt looks when you look through that scope?"

The annoying voice was followed by an equally annoying giggle. Even before Delilah managed to do anything there was that strange flash of black again which made her hesitate for a fraction of a second.

But then Viper's freshly reinstalled mental prodding took over once again and her body began moving on its own.

Reyna's head shot up from her rifle as she smoothly jumped to her feet, immediately spotting the person who managed to sneak up on her.

_ A flash of whitsh cyan and purple. _

It should have been a reason to pause, at least for a moment, but Hell's master torturer was running on autopilot. Someone was trying to withhold her from the objective which was given to her. Someone was interfering. That person was an  _ enemy.  _ A silent voice in her head kept whispering in her ear, ordering her to eliminate the enemies of Hell. To eliminate everyone who dared to interfere with the orders given to Delilah. And it was that creepy silent voice which kept Reyna from pausing and thinking, otherwise she might have stopped herself.

But she didn't.

Sage stood there with a happy smile on her lips. She knew what Delilah had told her before she had left her alone inside that belfry in London. Looking back now, finally seeing the woman which made her heart jump wildly in her chest, it already seemed like it had been an eternity ago since they last saw each other.

Sage knew she promised Delilah to be careful.

All the time she was around the public square, nervously looking out for a possible sniper, checking all the possible locations and hoping, praying to god that Hell would have sent  _ her. _

And then Sage had finally spotted something, which could have been the shadow of a barrel. She had almost missed that little detail, but luckily Sage checked twice. Someone was on top of a roof, and that was when a part of Mirai just  _ knew _ . She hurried past security when they weren't watching and basically flew up the stairs to the rooftop of the building. She crashed through the metal door onto the warm concrete roof, her eyes scanning for the source of the shadow Sage had seen before.

And Mirai found who she had hoped to find.

Sage may very well have never felt so excited in her whole life before. There she was, lying on a rooftop in her new beguiling outfit, the evening sun shining down on her perfect body and a gentle breeze softly playing with her shortened silken hair.

In that very moment, being careful was Sage's last concern. She was just too happy to see  _ her.  _ again. And once she did, her mouth started to talk on its own.

Delilah spun around, grabbing her rifle at its barrel, preparing for a preemptive strike against the intruder. Reyna didn't realize the happy smile on her  _ opponent's  _ lips. She didn't see Sage's eyes light up in anticipation. All she saw was an enemy.

An annoyance.

A target.

Without any hesitation, she rammed the metal shaft of her rifle straight into the intruder's face.

What did surprise Reyna was how the other woman didn't seem to be the least bit prepared for an attack. She had her guard down completely, taking the blow to her face without any effort to deflect it. The woman grunted in pain, stumbling a few steps back, before Reyna jumped forward, her whole body acting completely on its own. The relentless conditioning and brutal training Hell subjected her to had kicked in and was forcing her body to react accordingly.

_ Eliminate your enemy. _

It was her highest priority right now. Kicking the annoyance in her stomach in an expertly done move of perfectly executed close combat, she brought her leg up to spin her body in the air and kick her opponent in the face once more time, using all the momentum of her moving body.

It happened so fast that Delilah had already landed a couple of heavy strikes, sending the other woman sliding over the rooftop, when she consciously realized for the first time that the girl in  _ that  _ dress didn't even  _ try  _ to fight back. Despite being clearly armed, the girl in the dress wasn't defending herself. No matter how hard Delilah hit the woman, she didn't make a move to use her magic against her.

She just stood there, taking the beating like she was used to it, until she was lying on the ground, unmoving. Normally Delilah never talked to her victims, but this was the first time that someone didn't even try to put up a fight. She was really curious why that was, just as much as she was angry about it. It was almost insulting. Did that girl consider her an unworthy opponent? Was that it? What was that girl thinking?

"Why are you not fighting back?"

Delilah hissed angrily, standing tall over the injured and bruising intruder. What was that shit about? The longer Delilah looked, the more she got the feeling that she had seen her before. Somehow the girl seemed familiar. She had something written on one of her breast pockets "Sage". Was that her name? Sage? It did sound oddly familiar. Though no matter how much Reyna concentrated, whatever she was searching for barely escaped her grasp. She had the feeling it had been on the tip of her tongue, yet too far away to actually remember. Delilah was just sure that it had been something  _ important. _ Important enough to not kill this annoyance on the spot. Important enough to still be there after being through her complete overhaul.

"What do you want?"

And then the strange woman did something Delilah would have never imagined could happen.

Sage smiled. At her.

It was a shaky, painful smile, but Sage still did it. She smiled at the woman who just beat her up so badly that she was lying on the floor of the rooftop, her lips bleeding and her face bruising.  _ What the fuck? _

"Who are you?!"

Delilah snarled, causing the warm smile on Sage's lips to disappear for a tiny moment, before it was there again. Something was not right. Something was not right at all.

Sage felt like being stabbed by a thousand daggers over and over again. Rationally, she knew that this could happen. She knew that Delilah could be forced to forget her at some point. She just hoped it wouldn't be so soon, that there would be more time for them to spend together and more opportunities to create memories worth holding on to.

Mirai knew what had happened to Delilah when she attacked her. Yet the words spoken were more painful than the hits taken.  _ Those bastards _ ! They had wiped her memory again, taking away every last bit of what Mirai shared with Delilah. They did just what Reyna had feared they would do. 

_ And they succeeded in it. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Music I listened to on this chapter:  
> K/DA - VILLAIN  
> The Pretty Reckless - Heaven Knows  
> Shawn Mendes - Mercy  
> Rynx, Miranda Glory - Want You  
> Shakira, Rihanna - Can't Remember to Forget You


	5. Kiss And Make Up

Mirai moved her lips to say something, but the sound which came out was too silent for Reyna to hear, Sage's voice carried away in the soft summer evening winds. The assassin was too curious and too overwhelmed at this moment to resist the urge to crouch down next to the defeated woman, who never put up a fight in the first place. She wanted to hear what she would have to say, before she ended her puny life.

"Why would I want to hurt the girl of my dreams?"

Sage breathed, looking at the fallen angel with eyes wide open. She had tears in her eyes, not because of the physical pain, but because of what happened to her Delilah. Sage didn't cry for selfish reasons; she couldn't help but do it because of Delilah. Her own pain was nothing compared to the things Hell did to Reyna.

"I would never"

Once again they took everything away from the woman. Sage realized that with the impact of Reyna's rifle in her face, yet the decision she made was an easy one. Sage didn't want to take any chances; fighting back would have caused way more trouble than it would have solved. She promised Reyna that she'd make her remember, no matter what.

And Sage would keep that promise, no matter what.

"Wha-"

Delilah gasped, completely dumbstruck. What the hell was this lunatic talking about? They didn't know each oth-

"I promised I'll make you remember, love"

Sage said in tears, yet trying to laugh in a desperate attempt to seem positive.

_Love..._

The word felt like someone stuck a needle in the back of Delilah's head. A short series of swift images flashed though her mind.

_Mirai looking at her with burning desire. Eyes filled with tears. A desperate plea: "Don't go now!"_

Delilah blinked as a slight pain in the back of her head started to become noticeable and Reyna pressed her hand to her temple. _What the hell is going on? Who is this girl? What is she doing to me?_

"I would never hurt you, Delilah. Never."

Sage repeated, that same smile on her lips, her eyes still glowing with such a painfully obvious mixture of affection and sorrow when she reached out with a weak hand to touch Delilah's tanned cheek.

And unlike the last person who tried to touch Reyna, she allowed it this time, too overwhelmed by the situation and too caught up in the strange warm feeling which started to surround her frozen heart. Maybe it was because a part of her thought it was supposed to be this way, maybe it was because she seemed to remember something forgotten.

Delilah didn't know the reason.

She just knew that Sage's hot touch on her cold cheek felt good. It gave Reyna a strange feeling of safety, and it seemed like it was oddly familiar. _Very_ familiar. It shouldn't have, there was no way it could have, but nevertheless, Delilah felt like this strange girl had touched her before today. Soft, hot fingers gently brushed over cold skin, sending an electric spark through the assassin as she subconsciously leaned her face into Sage's hand just a little bit.

"Please remember, love. Think back to the belfry. Think about the time we spent together. Please remember me."

Sage's voice was getting heavy, and she swallowed a sour lump in her throat.

"Please."

She whispered with eyes starting to tear up again. Sage had no idea if this would work. She just wanted the woman from a few weeks ago to come back to her.

"You have no idea how lost I am without you."

Mirai sniffled.

"Come back to me. I beg you, Delilah."

_Delilah..._

The name sunk into Reyna's head as she slowly blinked. She had heard this name spoken from these lips before in another time, in another life. There was ... she had...

Suddenly the faint headache in the back of her skull violently exploded, like someone had smacked her across the head with a shovel, tossing Reyna's consciousness into an endless dark ocean filled with black water. For a short moment she felt like she was drowning, but when the floods had consumed her and her lungs seemed like bursting, Reyna noticed that she could breathe freely, despite feeling like she was submerged in water. The water around her looked like it was boiling, bubbles rapidly rising to the surface while she sank deeper and deeper toward the ground. Before long the fallen angel found herself inside some kind of belfry. There was a weekly market on the civic center down below and Delilah recalled watching someone.

Not for Perdition, but for herself. Delilah remembered that she wanted to be there, closer to the woman she was watching, but she didn't dare to actually follow through with that desire.

The images she saw were blurry, but Reyna was sure that she had definitely been there. Somehow. She lacked any feeling of time, but suddenly the girl which was currently lying on the floor on a rooftop was with her inside that belfry, far, far away, straddling her with a teasing smirk.

_Sage._

A second later, Reyna was the one who leaned forward for a kiss. She could almost feel the warmth of Sage's lips. She could almost smell her sweet scent as she remembered closing her eyes. The moment their lips softly brushed against each other was a short one.

And in exactly that moment, those intriguing eyes, the caring smile and happy voice which could only belong to one person and one person alone, tore the magically implemented wall in Reyna's head down with a huge sledgehammer. Sage's words were the ultimate battering ram, forcing her to remember what she thought was left forgotten.

_SAGE!_

A terrible stinging pain flooded her head and Delilah cringed, squeezing her eyes shut as a wave of confusing desires and forgotten fantasies washed over her. She didn't understand. What in the name of all the seven hells was going on?! Why was she seeing these stupid visions? These pictures and fantasies, these... _memories._ Were they memories of what happened?

Did she know Sage before? Was she fond of the bubbly angel? Did she actually kiss the little dove? Delilah was so confused as another wave of blurry images and distorted voices flooded into her mind.

_A dark alley. A stinging pain in her abdomen. "Letting you bleed to death would be just like killing you." A gentle touch. Being carried by a warm body. A caring smile._

_"She lost a lot of blood, Skye. God, please help me!" Eyes filled with tears. A voice full of concern and panic. Badly shaking hands desperately trying to stop her from bleeding to death._

_"What'cha looking at, love?" A cheeky wink. A bite off a red apple. Warmth and affection._

_"You know, if you want to ask me out, you just have to do so." Genuine interest. Hot hands caressing cold wrists. Beautiful ethereal blue eyes peering into cold golden ones._

_"I will make you remember!" hurting glances. A horrible decision. A painful goodbye._

_"Why would I want to hurt the girl of my dreams?" A serious question._

The memories of what happened between her and Sage washed over her like a giant waterfall as she desperately tried to make her way back to the surface of the dark ocean her mind was tossed into.

Reyna's head felt like it was about to explode. She squeezed her hands to her temples as if she was trying to not let her head burst open. It felt like she was failing. Someone was cracking her skull open with a dull spoon; Delilah was sure of it.

And then, all of a sudden there was a gentle, warm touch again.

"Love?"

The woman with a heavy Chinese accent asked. Delilah's eyes snapped open, her breathing frantic and shock written all over her stern features. Her eyes fell on Mirai's worried face, the concern for Reyna clearly apparent, even surpassing her bruises and injuries.

"Are you alright? Talk to me!"

Sage pleaded as she pushed herself up on one arm, ignoring the pain in her whole body. Damn, Reyna could land a good punch.

Delilah couldn't help but inhale sharply. She had no idea why, but somehow this angel managed to rip the nigh unbreakable-memory inhibitors of the Lethe, which prevented Reyna from accessing certain parts of her memory, apart like it was nothing but wet toilet paper. She made Delilah remember just like she promised she would.

And Reyna remembered.

Everything. The deadly dance they used to dance and how they slowly grew closer and closer. How Sage made her feel _alive,_ appreciatedand wanted. How strongly Reyna desired the angel with every fiber of her aching body.

_Heaven, what have I done?_

"Cariño?"

Delilah whispered with trembling voice, looking at the angel, whose expression started to glow when she heard this one, softly spoken word which Reyna only and solely used when referring to Sage.

"Thank God, you remember! Thank you!"

Sage gasped with wide eyes.

"I am here, love. I won't go anywhere else"

Mirai promised and tried to smile while her heart was beating faster and faster. She did it! She managed to get Reyna to remember! Mirai didn't know a word which could have described how she was feeling right now.

Yet Delilah didn't understand. The images she saw were hazy, but there was a memory of Sage and another girl with bright ginger hair. The reason she left Sage alone. The reason Reyna decided to have her memory cleaned up again.

However, what Delilah saw now didn't fit together with what she remembered.

"You are ...! You shouldn't be, but why are you...? I don't understand, you... you"

"Slow, love."

Mirai said, clumsily trying to catch Delilah's shaking hands in her own. God, her head was killing her. She had never been hit in the face so hard ever before.

"Talk to me"

Delilah opened and closed her mouth a couple of times, trying to find the right words while, at the same time, coping with the huge amount of memories suddenly available to her. It was overwhelming, to put it in simple terms.

She remembered Sage picking her up in the dirty alley. She remembered being carried to the angel's apartment where Mirai tended to her wounds. Reyna also remembered watching Sage for days, fearing what would happen if she'd approach her. Of course, she also remembered what happened in the belfry. Their mutual affection; their passionate kisses shared while tightly embracing each other and of course Delilah's biggest mistake: their goodbye.

But Delilah remembered visiting Sage one evening as well. Or at least she wanted to. She remembered being on the balcony in front of Mirai's living-room, seeing her with that other ginger girl. Reyna remembered the reason why she returned to Hell to have her memory cleared again.

So why was Sage here now? She looked genuinely worried about Reyna and obviously cared a lot. She wouldn't have let Reyna beat her up if she didn't care. And that didn't exactly make the most sense if there was someone else in her life. What was her deal? Delilah was so confused. Was it possible that she maybe misunderstood what she had seen? Was there a different truth to the one she believed to know?

"You should be with that other girl! Why are you here? I left knowing you'd be happy with her, so what are you... you doing here?"

Reyna didn't understand. She didn't know how to say this. She didn't know anything anymore. Nothing made any sense.

"What are you talking about?"

Sage asked, furrowing a brow. Which girl? _What?_

"I wanted to visit you the last time. I was on your balcony, but you had a visitor. The pretty ginger? I am not that stupid... am I? She even wore your shirt."

Delilah blurted out, spilling everything unfiltered as it crossed her mind. It was too much. She was too confused, her insides trembling with a sensation Reyna only ever felt in the presence of Sage.

For a moment the angel was silent, apparently thinking, before it dawned on her.

"Skye?"

Sage frowned.

"Are you talking about our medic?"

Mirai actually giggled when she heard that.

"So, you already kind of met my best friend, luv. My oldest, best, _straight_ friend. She's changed quite a bit since you last saw her billions of years ago"

Sage couldn't help but laugh. Talk about misunderstandings.

Delilah stared at Sage with a blank expression. One word stuck in her mind like glue.

"S-straight?"

She had the confusion written all over her face. What she remembered didn't seem the least bit _straight_. Then again, she couldn't remember having a best friend her whole life, so she'd hardly know the difference, right?

"Yes. She was on break and came to check in on me. She was the one who helped me patch you up, when you were shot, remember?"

Sage asked, causing Reyna to slowly nod.

"She just swung by. I spilled my glass of wine on her shirt; that's why I gave her one of mine. Skye is just a friend, nothing more. I promise. There is only you. Just you. No one else. Never."

"Are you serious?"

Reyna asked, feeling how a huge weight was lifted off her heavy heart as she stared down at Sage. The angel just nodded and Delilah knew her cute little annoyance was being absolutely honest in this moment. Her eyes were telling everything about Mirai, if you dared to gaze deep enough into them. If Sage said there was _nothing_ going on between her and Skye, it was this way. Period. Delilah _trusted_ Mirai. She trusted her before the incident that made her forget and she trusted her now. After Sage proofed to what lengths she would go for Reyna's sake -for the sake of fulfilling a promise- more than ever.

It was like Sage wanted to say something when movement on the rooftop caught Reyna's attention.

"Hey, you two there! This is a restricted area! What are you doing here?"

A man shouted. Sage turned around to see two policemen, both mortal, approaching them with fast steps. They were both wearing dark blue uniforms with black bulletproof vests. The cops was reaching for their pistol.

"Don't you move!"

He ordered with a commandeering, angry voice.

"You are both under arrest."

And that was when Mirai knew shit was about to hit the fan. She would have really wished that at least sometimes she'd be wrong about these kind of things, but today was apparently not one of those days. Heaven's agent barely had time to look over at Delilah. The fallen angel had already grabbed one of Sage's knives from her holster and swung over Mirai's body, keeping her pressed to the floor with half a knee and a hand, as if she wanted to make sure Sage was out of the line of fire. Faster than Sage could have reacted, Reyna threw the knife right through one of the human cops, while Sage was left with no other choice but to watch from basically underneath her. It was a strange angle. Strange but very... stimulating. Delilah's alluring meshwire attire didn't leave a lot to Mirai's imagination, however inappropriate this was to notice in a situation like this.

Moments later, the other policeman suffered a similar fate as his colleague as the knife flew backwards, ramming itself right through his body before Reyna caught it again. The bodies hadn't even hit the floor yet, when Delilah was already at her feet again, hurrying over to the two policemen. She wouldn't allow anyone to interrupt again. Delilah would _never_ allow someone to give Sage crap for the things Reyna did, yet alone attempt to arrest her. How _dare_ they interrupt this and expect to walk away from it! She stared at the two cops who were stupid enough to make their presence known to the assassin. Annoying pests.

Mirai thought Reyna would check if they both were really dead.

And Delilah kind of did and didn't. She _did_ make sure they were dead. She didn't really _check_. Wearing a face of disgust the fallen angel looked down on her two victims and, without any hesitation, Reyna sliced open one of the policeman in the head, before she turned to the remaining human. He was coughing up blood, likely trying to beg for his life, before Reyna once again jabbed the knife against his body, opening a hole in his head as well. Now there was no doubt left that those two fools wouldn't get up again.

Sage was left with no other choice but watch Reyna murder those two cops. And a part of her wanted to yell out for her to stop.

But Mirai didn't.

She couldn't.

This wasn't Reyna's fault, Sage had to remind herself over and over again of that fact. It was Hell who made her like this, who forced her to become who she was now. And Sage despised them for it.

_Them._

Not _her._ Delilah just did was she thought was best. She did what people taught her to do, and some sick fuck at Hell decided it had to be killing.

Mirai saw how a one-sided smile was spread over Reyna's lips as the celestial assassin took a fraction of a second to relish the feeling of taking another one's life.

It was her satisfaction.

Delilah turned around to look at Sage, who was trying to sit up a few meters away from her. And Reyna's face suddenly relaxed when her eyes fell on Mirai again. The angel was having difficulties picking herself up, while she tried to hide a mortified look on her face.

 _Right_. It had been her satisfaction.

And now there was _her._ With her bright smile and warm eyes, she was everything Reyna could have hoped for and possibly even more. Now that she remembered, Delilah felt like a fool for ever wanting to forget. It had been such a stupid decision.

Walking back to Sage, she pushed these thoughts aside for now. Chances were the mortals managed to contact police-HQ, Reyna should have shot him first, but the humans had the pistol already risen. The more dangerous threat dies first, most basic rule of engagement.

But now there were most likely more security forces en route.

"Time to get going, don't you think?"

She said, a little hint of insecurity in her voice.

"I'd really like to talk to you for a little bit"

Reyna added, her eyes meeting Mirai's for a second. She would never understand how the angel could be so positive about everything, even now she was still trying to pull off a shaky smile. Delilah quickly looked away, Mirai's gaze too intense for the moment.

"If that's ok"

She added in a whisper.

Insecure Delilah was something terribly cute. Something Sage hadn't seen in a long time and something which made her almost forget about the two dead humans lying on the rooftop.

 _Almost._ Still, she really had to address this now or Sage knew the topic would never come up again.

"You killed them."

Sage stated. She wasn't sure why Reyna did it apart from being used to it. They didn't technically do anything _major_ wrong, so Sage was sure that the problem could have been solved with some smiles and smooth-talking. And diverting attention from the fact that they were both armed... and part of the celestial chain of existence.

"I did"

Reyna replied. For her the decision was a no-brainer for one terribly simple reason.

"Why?"

Mirai wanted to know and Delilah greatly appreciated that Sage didn't sound like she was judging Reyna for the actions she took. Sage made that question sound like general curiosity and not like she was trying to scold Reyna for something she did wrong.

"The humans were about to interrupt us. Nobody interrupts our time together"

Delilah replied, trying to hide her concerns for Sage behind some feigned bossy attitude, and yet Mirai saw right through her.

"Aww, you wanted to savour your time with me, love? Is that it?"

Mirai cocked her head sideways in a cute manner

"You don't have to, you know? We have a lot of time"

She said with a wide smile and glistering eyes. Reyna yet again had to look away so Sage wouldn't see the rapid pink blush spreading over her cheeks.

"Stop uttering nonsense! I didn't want them to disrupt us, idiot. What if we get caught? What would happen to you in Heaven or me in Hell?"

Delilah tried to defuse the situation for her. But no matter how much jesting there was in this statement, there also was some truth to it. And she didn't even want to think about the cruel implications of Reyna's last statement. What would Hell do in such a case? Capture her? Probably. Followed by some highly painful punishment. Most likely.

Still, killing the two cops was cruel. But that was the price of Reyna's freedom and Sage got the feeling she'd have to make some tough decisions in the future if she wanted to enable her a rudimentary normal life in freedom.

The truth was, Sage wanted nothing more than a normal life for Reyna. She deserved it so much, she deserved to leave this horrible mess behind her and have enough time to peacefully heal from what was done to her. And if she'd allow it, Sage would stay right at her side, helping her however possible.

"Can we leave now?"

Delilah asked, suddenly back to a way more nervous self.

"Of course."

Mirai nodded, trying to pick herself up from the floor before two athletic arms helped her to her feet.

"I am really sorry"

Delilah whispered, looking at Sage with apologetic eyes. The bubbly angel just giggled as Delilah helped her toward the staircase.

"For hitting you and... everything else"

"Don't be, love. I knew this could happen. It's fine, really. I just want my Reyna back, ok? I just want you back."

Sage replied with a happy smile. She didn't dare to call the assassin _her Delilah_ yet. She wasn't sure if the fallen angel would ever be anyone's Delilah again, so Sage decided against it.

But that was something to dwell on another day. Today their reunion went unexpectedly smooth. She didn't even want to begin to think about how many things could have gone wrong. So, two dead policemen were somehow a none too negative result. Sage frowned at the thought, Delilah really was no good influence. But she honestly couldn't care less.

When the door leading outside into the bright public place in front of the museum was opened, Sage raised a hand to her head, shielding her eyes from the strong rays of the slowly sinking evening sun. Everything was bathed in beautifully warm orange light. The major was still talking to the public in what seemed to be a heated and emotional speech, while Reyna and Sage found themselves in an ocean of people.

Noticing that Sage was slowing down, Delilah adjusted her pacing so Sage wouldn't trip over until they both were standing in the middle of a large crowd.

"What's the matter, cariño?"

Delilah asked, bringing a smile to Sage's lips. The way Reyna pronounced the word c _ariño_ and the way it sounded in Mirai's ears made her heart skip a beat or two. She beamed at Reyna, her radiance glowing with happiness which let the bad bruises in her face fade in comparison.

"Today was a good day"

She finally said, wrapping her arms around Reyna's waist and leaning a little closer to Delilah, not caring what the people around them would think. She could smell the wonderful scent of Delilah's eternal perfume already, but didn't quite dare kiss the other woman yet. A part of Sage wanted to make sure everything was alright on Reyna's end. It must have been difficult to suddenly remember so many things all at once. No matter how much Mirai wanted to taste those intriguing lips again, she was not sure if this would be too fast for Reyna. They had time. There was no rush. She made the first step, but left the rest to her partner in crime.

A gentle smile tugged on Delilah's lips, feeling the warmth radiating off Sage once again confirming the feeling she had in her visions and memories. This was what made her feel more _alive_ than anything else ever could. This was the woman, who made her _feel_ again. Who made breathing freely easy and who made everything else around her seem unimportant.

There was a cold, soft and careful touch on Mirai's lips as Delilah gently brought them together.

And just when Sage's eyes were about to slowly close, embracing the moment and relishing in Delilah's embrace, the world around them turned to chaos. A blinding bright light caught the attention of both women followed by a powerful blast wave washing over the civic center and an all deafening explosion. The ground started shaking, and people were frozen solid for a moment as everyone took a moment to realize what was going on.

Their heads spun around to see a huge mushroom of dark blue fire rise into the air, exactly where the wooden stage had been before. Where a second prior the major had been talking, there was now a huge ethereal fireball. Maybe it was because of the noise of the explosion, but there was an odd moment of complete silence while debris and pieces of various different sizes and materials raced through the air.

Sage had seen her fair share of explosions. But not one was so close to her. _This feels strangely peaceful_ she thought, looking at a dark dot which was growing in size, as if it was coming closer.

_Strange._

It was just as if the dark object was getting closer. What was that thing?

Maybe it was a piece of wood or something.

It was a piece of metal. From the bomb.

 _Oh shit,_ was all the bubbly angel managed to think, before a certain bronzed woman leapt in front of her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Music I listened to on this chapter:  
> Wham! - Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go  
> MEDUZA, Becky Hill, Goodboys - Lose Control  
> Stephen William Cornish & Amanda Leight Wilson - Stronger Than You Know  
> Huey Lewis & The News - The Power of Love


End file.
